Come What May
by Kavi Leighanna
Summary: AU Rogan When life throws you lemons, make lemonade. When life throws you Shira Huntzberger... lemonade just doesn't help anymore. FOLLOWS CATHERINE'S FOUNDATION
1. Big News

**_Ladies and gentlemen, impatient and patient readers alike, here is chapter one of the sequel to Catherine's Foundation! Now I feel like I should warn you that updates for this might not be as speedy as those for Catherine's Foundation, but I do promise to update as often as possible. So, very kindly, and only once will I ask for your patience!_**

_**Chapter 2 will be typed tomorrow assuming I get chapter 3 written and start on 4. I just got impatient and wanted to give you guys the sequel! Enjoy!**_

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**June 2011**

Rory couldn't wait.

She was bouncing on the balls of her feet as the elevator climbed the eleven floors to the executive offices of Catherine's Foundation. She had huge news and she had to tell Honour.

She'd called her mother the previous night and squealed for the better part of an hour – long after Logan had gotten out of the shower – and promised to make it to Stars Hollow as soon as possible. That weekend, apparently.

Finally, the elevator doors opened and Rory bounded childishly from the confined space, stopping just long enough to drop her things just inside her office door and wave at her assistant before aiming for Honour's office. She plopped both her hands on the blonde's desk pulling her from her focus.

"So how good do you look in navy blue?" Rory asked giddily.

Honour looked at her best friend like she was on crack. "How many cups of coffee have you had this morning?"

Rory rolled her eyes. "Five cups, two Danishes and a bagel. Now answer the question."

"Um… good I guess. Why?"

"Because I've always dreamed of my bridesmaids in navy blue at my wedding."

5… 4… 3… 2… 1…

"He proposed!"

Rory actually cringed at the volume and pitch of Honour's squeal. "Last night. Picnic in Strawberry Fields."

Honour was around her desk in an instant pulling Rory to one of the chairs there. "Nuh uh, girlie, there's no way you're getting away with that. I want full disclosure with every single on of the juicy details.

"Well," Rory began slowly. "He didn't blindfold me this time…"

* * *

Logan was slightly apprehensive stepping into the usual pub where he, Colin, Finn and Steph met for lunch each week. He and Rory had agreed that she'd handle her friends and he would tell his. Their families, Lorelai aside, they'd tackle together. However, telling his friends that the greatest bachelor of their generation was totally completely and permanently off the market suddenly seemed a little daunting. 

Logan had actually kept his decision to propose a complete secret, even and especially ever-level-headed and objective Colin, for fear that over-talking and over-thinking would lead to waiting, wondering and increased nerves. It had been the biggest payout of his life.

He spotted Finn and Steph in a back booth and headed their way. "Where's Colin?"

"Flirting," Finn responded, waving toward the bar.

Exchanging mischievous grins with Finn, Logan turned his attention to the pixie-faced blond across the table. "Something wrong, Steph?"

She shot him a glare as Logan slid into the booth beside the Australian. "Where do you get off telling your girlfriend that I've been in love with Colin since seventh grade?" she snapped.

Logan simply raised an eyebrow. "I'm not even going to dignify the 'where do I get off' part of that, but I will correct you on your use of girlfriend."

"What the hell did you do?"

"And we've entered the no humour zone," Logan quipped, subconsciously leaning away from the irate blond.

Finn looked over Logan critically. "Well, you would have told us if you were about to pop the question, so it can't be that…"

Logan grinned.

"You didn't!" Steph exclaimed, just as Colin came back.

"Who didn't what?" He didn't think twice about sliding into the seat beside Steph.

"The term girlfriend apparently doesn't apply to Logan's Ace anymore," Finn said with a nonchalant wave of his hand, still trying to puzzle out why such a phenomenon had occurred.

"What?" Jeeze, Logan, what the hell are you thinking?" Colin almost exploded.

"Hey, don't castrate me yet," Logan said. "I just figured that the diamond I put on her finger last night entitled her to the term fiancée instead of girlfriend."

Colin and Steph's jaw dropped while Finn stayed remarkably calm, pulling out a quarter. "Colin, mate, heads or tails?"

Logan laughed at the fish impression his friends were doing, pulling out his cell phone to document the moment for Rory. "For the record, she said yes when I asked her last night and Steph, I owe you and Honour for keeping Ace occupied during the day."

Steph blinked. "You proposed."

"Yeah," Logan said with a grin.

"Last night."

"Yeah," Logan repeated.

"After Honour and I took her around Fifth Avenue for the day?"

"Yeah."

"And that little tramp hasn't called me yet?!" she exclaimed, whipping out her cell phone and hunting down Rory's number.

Meanwhile, Colin had regained control of his mental faculties. "You did _what_?"

"Proposed. Last night." Logan was getting so exasperated.

"You know," Finn said in reflection. "I figured McCrae would be the first to give."

"Hey," Logan exclaimed. "In my defence, I never expected to find anyone like Rory. She pretty much blind-sided me."

Steph snorted as she snapped her phone shut. "I'm pretty sure she more than blind-sided all of us. And I'm going to throttle your _fiancée_."

A smile blossomed over Logan's face at Steph's emphasis of 'fiancée'. "Please don't do that."

"She's withholding details!"

"Uh huh, so you're going to lunch tomorrow." It was a statement not a question. "And if it makes you feel any better Lane doesn't know yet. We're going to wait until we go to Stars Hollow this weekend to tell her."

Steph nodded thoughtfully. Then she grinned. "So which one of Dumb and Dumber here is going to be your best man?"

Finn held up the quarter again. "What do you say, mate? Heads or tails?"

* * *

"Eli?" Rory questioned, poking her head into the study of the Huntzberger mansion. 

"Lorelai, this is a pleasant surprise," Elias responded, looking up.

Rory smiled affectionately. She hadn't talked to Elias in ages, too afraid of running into Shira to brave the dark mausoleum. _Mental note: no living here without extensive renovation plans or extensive therapy_. "I'm sorry, I would have called, but Honour got dragged off to the club again so I knew Shira wasn't home…"

Elias waved a hand. "I can see the motivation. I assume its safe to say you keep a stash of Aspirin in your office?"

Rory grinned. "That's an understatement. I make sure I carry Aspirin with me at all times and I'm considering buying stock with the amount Honour, Logan and I go through. I'm sure I'd be richer than you," she teased.

"Lorelai, you are richer than me," Elias pointed out, hitting below the belt. Rory hated any talk about wealth comparisons. "But something tells me this witty banter was not the reason for your impromptu visit."

She blushed by nodded. "We kind of decided to tell our families together, but you're my friend too and I get to tell my friends so I figured this was fair and Logan can't get mad at me for it…"

Elias chuckled. "You're rambling, Lorelai."

Rory blushed brighter. "I'm so nervous," she admitted.

Elias watched her carefully. She sat in front of him, her right hand fidgeting with something on her left and the Huntzberger reporter gene kicked in. Her eyes were glowing sapphires, sparkling in genuine elation. "This isn't about the charity."

"Well, I guess I can mention the carnival we're throwing together in a month. You're invited of course but I figured—"

"E-mail me the date and time. Now focus." Elias almost laughed as she basically snapped to attention.

"Logan and I are getting married."

Elias had vaguely been expecting that, but it still managed to shock him just that bit. "And you are not pregnant."

Rory blushed and stuttered indignantly for a moment before she caught that upturned twitch in Elias' lips and the Huntzberger mischievous twinkle. "I hate you."

This time, Elias outright laughed. "I apologize Lorelai."

Rory rolled her eyes. "If you could keep the news to yourself until Logan and I get a chance to tell everyone, we'd really appreciate it."

"Your secret's safe with me," he promised.

Rory felt the tension rush out of her along with a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Thank God."

Elias raised an eyebrow.

"When planning a coup it's always beneficial to have secret back up," Rory explained. "Though Logan has no idea I'm here."

"We don't all bite, Lorelai."

Rory met his eyes honestly. "Shira does. And I'm not exactly sure of Mitchum," she told him.

"Mitchum has no complaints, I assure you of that," Elias began, leaning back in his chair. "He's not blind to real love."

Rory smiled, remembering briefly some of the stories Honour and Logan had told her about the Huntzberger grandparents. "Hey Eli?"

"Yes Lorelai?"

"Why is Shira so fixed on the trophy wife?"

Elias regarded Rory seriously. "Because she knows no different."

* * *

Rory plopped down next to Logan on the couch that night after their first full day as an engaged couple. "So, I'm in my car this afternoon, voluntarily on my way to Hartford because your mother dragged Honour to the club so I knew Eli was all by himself…" 

"You said we'd tell my parents and your grandparents together," Logan interrupted in surprise.

"Eli's not your parents or my grandparents is he? And I'll get to why he doesn't count in a minute. So I'm driving and my cell phone rings. Guess who was on the other end?"

"The Dalai Llama?"

"Nope," Rory grinned, loving how he played along.

"Santa Claus?"

"Nope again."

"The Tooth Fairy? The Easter Bunny? Throw me a bone here, Ace."

"Stephanie."

He vaguely remembered Steph being on the phone. "And this had everything to do with me because…?

"Because I told you to let me handle Steph," she chastised. "She reamed me out for five minutes and then went on to force me into lunch tomorrow."

"You love Steph," he said, drawing random shapes just above her knee where her legs were thrown across his.

"Yes, but I do not love an angry Steph," Rory replied. "I can understand telling Colin and Finn, I mean, I'm sure you talked to them about proposing before but for Steph it was out of the blue…"

"I never told Colin or Finn. They were just as in the dark as Steph was," Logan defended, moving his hands to her calves and starting to dig his fingers into the muscles there.

Rory blinked in surprise. "You didn't tell Finn or Colin?"

Logan shook his head. "Are you kidding me? They're my best friends and I love them but they jumped down my throat about giving up my previous lifestyle. Think of what they would have been like if I told them in advance." He watched her carefully after his revelation as she chewed her lip and twisted her engagement ring on her finger. He had to smile at the latter. Twenty-four hours and she'd already picked it up as a nervous habit. "What?"

"Would they really try to talk you out of proposing to me?" she asked finally. God, why did she have to be so insecure?

"Proposing to you specifically? No. Proposing in general on the other hand, without a doubt."

Rory wrinkled her brow. "Why?"

"For them, it means I'm giving up what they think is the only freedom I've got left."

"Because you're tying yourself down to one woman?"

He smiled and tapped her nose playfully. "I've been happily tied down to one woman for over a year and a half, Ace."

"Then I don't get it. It can't be because they don't like me," Rory said, pulling her legs to tuck them underneath her.

His hand came to rest on her thigh. "I think this just makes it real for them and I don't think they're looking forward to the reaction of their parents when the announcement comes out."

Rory groaned. "The announcement! It completely slipped my mind."

Logan grinned. When he'd come home, he'd found Sophie watching a documentary on the History Channel and Rory making a wedding to-do list in the office. The length of the list scared him, but she'd laughed and assured him that most of the things were jotted down for her own conscience. After all, she'd played a major role in planning her parents' wedding.

"That means we have to pick a date," she said with a sigh.

Logan chuckled, cool as a cucumber even though his insides were twisting and turning uncomfortably. "Why don't we pick a date to spread the news and then worry about picking the wedding date, okay?"

"Thank you for that lovely reminder too," she said slapping the back of his hand lightly before starting to play with his fingers. "I told Eli myself for two reasons."

Logan blinked slightly at her abrupt subject change. It took him a minute to process that Eli was his grandfather. "Okay…"

"One, I respect him too much to let him find out as just another member of your family. He's my friend too and I know it's a bit of a stretch but he was my friend before I knew he was your grandfather. I just felt I owed it to him."

Logan could vaguely understand that. "And two?"

Rory took a deep breath. It had been ages since Shira had last come up and even longer since either of them actually had to deal with the woman. "I want to make sure I know who's in my corner before plunging head first into a Huntzberger shanghai."

Logan groaned, like Rory had known he would. "Ace…"

"I know, I know," she promised, patting the hand still resting on her thigh. "But seriously, Logan, your mother hates me, and I'm not sure either of us really knows where your father stands. I love you, and I'm going to marry you with or without your mother's approval, it's just nice to know we have Honour and Eli behind us when we tell them."

She made a very logical point and he knew it. "I hate that she's such a pain about all of this."

Rory sighed. "I know."

"But," Logan continued, tugging on her hand until she was snuggled into his side. "I love you."

Rory smiled, leaning up to kiss him. "I love you, too."


	2. Different Family

_**Okay, so originally I was going to wait to delve into some of the drama, but then this chapter kind of wrote itself and it acts as a brilliant little set up piece that I love. And I wasn't going to post this until later either because chapter 3 is not currently finished, but 25 reviews is a lot of people for one chapter, so I felt kind of like I was withholding something near and dear to you all.**_

_**Thus, the present!**_

* * *

The following week, Rory stepped into her office surprised to find Sophie working on the floor. "Soph? Everything okay? I thought you were heading over to work with Logan today."

At nine, Sophie was already helping around Logan's office some days after school. She enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the newspaper industry and thus, it wasn't often that she showed up at the headquarters of Catherine's Foundation.

"I was, and I called, I promise," Sophie answered, hoisting herself up from her stomach.

"So then what's going on?"

"Um…" Sophie began, biting her lip. "I wanted to talk to you."

"Okay," Rory said carefully, taking a seat."

Sophie followed, curling herself into the lap of the woman that for the last four years had been her mother. "About the wedding."

Rory admitted to apprehension. She wasn't sure if Logan had run his proposal plans by Sophie or not. "You're okay with me marrying Logan, right? I mean, you like him and everything."

"It's not that," Sophie promised with a shake of her head. "Logan makes you happy and that makes me happy."

Rory looked down at her daughter. Sometimes she wasn't sure if the girl was nine or thirty. _But then_, she reflected, _not many girls have to go through chemotherapy and their parents' death._ She fully credited those torturous months with the maturity Sophie constantly displayed. "Then what's wrong, sweetheart?"

Sophie leaned her head on Rory's shoulder. "I heard you and Logan talking last night."

Rory knit her brows together and started running her fingers over Sophie's scalp. "About what?"

"Logan's mom," Sophie said matter-of-factly.

Rory nodded absently.

"Does she really hate you?"

Rory blinked for a second. She hadn't expected Sophie to worry about someone else's opinion of Rory. "She doesn't like the way I love my life."

"Because you don't spend the money you have?" Sophie asked innocently.

Rory, however, knew better. There was something specific Sophie was getting at. "Partly. She doesn't like that I work either."

Sophie fidgeted with the hem of the t-shirt she wore. "Maybe Kitty should be your flower girl."

Rory's hand stopped and her eyes widened at the top of Sophie's head. "I beg your pardon? Soph, where is this coming from?"

Sophie's small shoulders went up and down as she took a deep breath, refusing to meet Rory's eyes. "Remember when Mr Huntzberger came by Logan's office and I was there? He was taking care of me while you were away?"

If Mitchum had made this brilliant little girl doubt her role in her own family, Rory was going to tar and feather the man. "Yeah."

Sophie sighed. "Sheila went to get the coffee and deliver the file."

"And you heard every word of Logan's argument with Mitchum," Rory finished, closing her eyes and flopping back against the cushions. Mitchum was dead. It was one thing to rag on Logan, an act Rory was not appreciative of anyway, but Sophie was nine. Just a child.

"It's okay," Sophie said with a shrug, trying to play it off.

"No, Sophie, it's not okay. Not okay at all," Rory protested. Gently she moved and shifted until Sophie was sitting in the chair and she was crouched down in front. Her heart broke at the tears in Sophie's eyes. "Sweetie, what do you know about the Huntzbergers? About the Hartford Elite?"

"Just what I've Googled. Logan's pretty tight-lipped about it all."

Rory nodded. "He doesn't like to talk about it, just like I don't like to talk about my mom's parents. He doesn't get along with his family, but it Hartford, that's not unheard of. Actually, it's why my mom lives in Stars Hollow."

Sophie sniffled. "What do you mean?"

Rory sighed. She'd kept Sophie away from Hartford as best she could because she knew from experience sweet little girls got slaughtered like lambs. "Hartford isn't as nice as some people see it," she began.

For the next hour and a half, Rory told Sophie all about the Gimores and the Haydens, her parents and her scandal. Sophie listened with rapt attention through the whole thing, absorbing each detail, each syllable Rory spoke.

"But your parents love you and you love your parents," Sophie said finally, trying to make sense of it all.

"Of course Soph, and their parents love them too, but sometimes Hartford gets too wrapped up in image and perfection to see that there are real people with real feelings, real hopes and real dreams and the skills to do whatever they want."

"That doesn't make sense," Sophie said, dropping her head into her hands.

Rory laughed softly. "I've been straddling that world since I was fifteen and I don't understand it. Honour grew up in that world and she can't make heads or tails of things sometimes."

"And Logan's mom doesn't like you."

"I'm not going to lie to you, Sophie, she outright hates me."

"You're okay with that?"

"Shira doesn't have control over Logan's love life. Now what does this have to do with you as a flower girl?" Rory asked, tucking Sophie's hair behind her ears.

Sophie shrugged, faking nonchalance. "Kitty's cuter."

Rory chuckled. "But Kitty's not my little girl. I want you to stand up there with me."

"But Kitty belongs in the family."

Rory's blood froze in her veins. She reached for Sophie, grasping her chin and ensuring the little girl met her eyes. "You belong in this family, Sophie. You are my life, you were my life before Logan and you will always, _always_, be important to me. I can't stand up there and get married if you're not going to stand up there with me."

"But Logan's parents…"

Rory was already shaking her head. "This is _my_ wedding, Miss Wilson, and it _will_ be planned _my_ way."

"Promise?"

Rory brushed away tears that started falling down her daughter's cheeks. "I promise."

* * *

Logan looked up at the angry brunette that stormed into his office and slammed the door so hard that the windows behind him rattled. "And hello to you too." 

"Do you want to hear the psychological damage Mitchum has managed to wreak?" Rory said with a sickly sweet smile.

Logan set his pen down, watching her warily. "Psychological damage."

"Mmhmm." That sweet smile and perky tone were still in place.

"On?"

Rory leaned forward, bracing her arms on her thighs. "My daughter."

The anger bubbled up in him so fast he hadn't realized he'd moved until his chair hit the bookshelf with a bang. They both jumped, eyes wide and staring at each other before falling into tension-releasing laughter. Finally, Logan moved around the desk, taking the seat across from her. "What happened? And where's Sophie now?'

"I called Finn. Sometimes her adoration for that man terrifies me," Rory answered. "But I digress. I walk into my office this afternoon and Sophie's doing homework on my office floor. Now that I look back on it I'm not sure which is more disturbing that she was there or that she was voluntarily working on a carpet which has definitely seen more hygienic days…"

Logan moved swiftly, dropping down to a crouch in front of her. "Whoa, there Ace, slow down a touch. I promise she called to tell me she wasn't coming in."

Rory took a deep breath, trying to keep the pained tears she'd been restraining at bay. "She wanted to talk about the wedding."

"She actually squealed when I asked if she was okay with me marrying you," he revealed with a little half-smile.

"That's what I figured, that it was something like that , but it wasn't! She wanted Kitty to be the flower girl."

Logan was confused. "Then what part would she play?"

"Exactly! And I promised her ages ago that she could be my flower girls when I got married! SO you kow what she says?" The tears dropped over her eyelashes now.

"What did she say?"

"Well first she goes into this long, well actually it was pretty short…"

"Ace."

"She heard you and your dad talking about her here in your office. Every word."

Logan was confused for a moment before comprehension dawned and he froze. "Son of a bitch."

Rory managed a watery smile. "I know you are but I'm not so sure your grandmother would appreciate that."

Logan dropped his forehead to her knees, collapsing to is own in front of her. After a moment he looked up again. "So?"

"So I told her about Hartford, about my grandparents about what I knew of your family. But that wasn't the best part."

"Best part and Mitchum don't usually fall into the same category," Logan pointed out dryly, replacing his head on her knees.

Rory absently settled one hand in his hear. "She doesn't think she belongs in the family."

Logan started banging his head gently against her legs, muttering curse words and threats under his breath.

But Rory wasn't finished. "She thinks Kitty should be the flower girl because she's family by blood, raised by two married parents."

Logan groaned. "And the worst part is I can't yell at him because technically it's not his fault." At Rory's disbelieving look he pressed on. "He didn't make Soph listen, Ace. I can't fault him for what she overheard. I can fault him for the words, but I can't fault him for her hearing them."

"But you can fault him for saying it where she might overhear it," Rory said petulantly.

"And I promise you I defended Sophie that day. I had no idea she was there, Ace," Logan said softly.

The tears came again, falling over the rosy apples of her cheeks. "He hurt my baby."

"And I'm sorry for that," Logan responded sincerely, tucking hair gently behind her ears. "And I hate that Sophie heard all of it, but at this point there's nothing we can do but stew angrily and try to make sure Sophie knows she's _definitely_ part of the family."

Rory sighed, knowing he was right. "I want to scream at him."

"I know."

"She wanted to make things easy for me, Logan. She heard us talking last night about your mom too."

"My parents suck, I know this."

"We did the right thing though, didn't we? I mean, keeping her out of everything?"

"Kitty's not in the spotlight, right? She's leading the equivalent of a normal life for an eight-year-old. The engagement announcement will probably throw us all into the spotlight anyway."

Rory had not thought of that. "Why do you have to be a Huntzberger?"

He chuckled. "Why do you have to be a Hayden?"

"Touché."

"Look, we'll get through it. And Sophie's walking down that aisle in front of you no matter what my parents think."

Rory took a deep breath, wiping away the residue from her tears. "I'm insane."

"Maybe a bit," Logan agreed with a smile, using her lap as leverage to push himself to standing. "But I love you and because I love you I'm going to tell you that my grandfather has requested our presence at the gates of hell next Friday."

Rory knit her brows. "Why is your grandfather requesting our presence at my Gilmore grandparents'?"

"My gates of hell."

Rory groaned. "Dinner with your family?"

"And yours. As soon as he got of the phone with me he was going to call Straub and Francine."

Rory breathed out a sigh of relief. "This is one of those times the Hartford hierarchy is going to work in my favour."

"Maybe my mother will can it just for one night," Logan nodded. "This does mean that we have to pick a wedding date."

She nodded, taking his outstretched hands to pull her up. "April or May?"

He gasped. "I figured that with your wedding all planned out you'd have picked your date too."

She knew he was teasing but blushed anyway. "I knew it would be in the spring, but that was pretty much it," she admitted. "I figured I'd give you a chance to get a say."

"It's your day. I want you to plan it exactly how you've dreamed," he told her, cupping her cheeks. "And remember, money isn't a problem."

Rory smoothed her hands down his chest. "You know this isn't going to be a big society blow out, right?"

"Good luck convincing my mother of that. Or even you'd grandmother, I'd assume." At her wide-eyed look he sighed. "Rory, so long as you're happy with the outcome and I get to marry you I don't care if we get married in an mine field during a napalm strike." He laughed when we watched her wrinkle her nose at the picture he'd most likely drawn for her mind's eye.

"I was going to go with a church wedding myself, but I'm flexible," she quipped, blinking away the disturbing image.

Logan grinned, leaning down to kiss her. "A church wedding sounds perfect," he said against her mouth. "And April has this tendency to be rainy."

"May it is," she agreed, kissing him softly. "Twenty-sixth."

He pulled back. "The closest Saturday."

"Deal. Now come on. Finn's good, but he's not a miracle worker and Sophie's going to want to start her homework soon."

"I'll be down in a sec, just let me save and close everything down," he promised, kissing her forehead, her cheek and then her mouth.

She hummed in appreciation. "Don't take too long."

He waited until she was gone and out of his eyesight before plopping down in the chair she had vacated. He felt guilty. Horribly and totally guilty. He hadn't even thought about Sophie eavesdropping on the conversation, pawing her jobs off on someone else just that one time. It hurt him to imagine the look Rory had to endure during that conversation and it hurt even more to think about Rory recounting everything she knew about the twisted inner workings of high society.

Society had not been kind to Rory Hayden. Nor had the Huntzbergers and if it ever happened again, Logan was going to end it.

Period.


	3. Those Magic Changes

Rory stepped onto the patio of one of the upscale restaurants in New York with a smile, searching the patrons for the blond and raven hair of her two best, if long-distance, friends. Paris had made it from Boston, having just attended her graduation and Lane had been too busy during her last trip to Stars Hollow to make time for her.

"Rory!" Lane exclaimed, jumping out of her seat to give her friend a hug. "I'm so sorry about being so busy two weeks ago! I didn't know you were coming down."

"It was pretty much an impromptu visit," Rory admitted, accepting Lane's tight embrace. "Though I'd love it if you could let me breathe just a little bit."

Lane let go almost instantly, plopping back down into the wire chair as Paris and Rory exchanged greetings.

"Tell me about med school," Rory prodded her blond friend.

Paris shook her head. "Stupidest people. I swear, the incompetence of this world never ceases."

Rory grinned. She'd missed her friends.

"Where's the other blondie. The rich one," Paris asked.

Rory rolled her eyes. Happy Honour and cynical and sarcastic Paris had never really gotten along though they'd all been there for Rory during her ordeal with Robert. "She's working, Paris. And her name's Honour."

"Right. Well, I guess I have to ask what you've been up to."

"You have been _so_ out of the loop," Lane said giddily. "She's been dating this guy, actually, Honour's brother, for a year and a half!"

Paris raised an eyebrow. "Logan Huntzberger? Go big or go home, Hayden?"

Rory shrugged. "I'm not sure I had full control over it, actually. He sponsored an event almost three years ago and we hit it off."

Paris nodded. "And the brat?"

Paris was the only one that Rory would ever let call Sophie brat and get away with it. From Paris, brat was a term of endearment. "She's good. Little bit of a blow up last week because of Logan's bitch of a mother, but she's okay now."

"Ah yes, the parents," Paris nodded. "The worst part."

"Oh yeah," Rory agreed.

Paris and Rory had met at Chilton and had gotten off on the wrong foot immediately. Rory had started dating Paris' crush and things had gone down hill from there. Until Paris asked Rory to run with her for student government. It was then that Rory learned Paris respected her work ethic and they'd developed a rather odd friendship that extended into their years as Yale roommates.

Lane was the middle child, the mellow one with a side of hyper. Actually, when Rory looked at her friends they each had their balancing personality. Honour and Paris balanced each other perfectly and she and Lane picked up the leftover slack.

"Is everything okay?" Lane asked.

Rory sighed. "Little bit of a flake out on being the flower girl for my wedding. No biggie."

"Well, you're not planning a wedding so it doesn't matter," Paris said with a wave of her hand.

Rory looked between her friends, a smile creeping over her face. "Actually, Paris, I am."

"Your mother's getting married again? I thought she was still married to your father. They didn't break up did they?"

"No Paris. I've planned my mother's only wedding. This one's mine."

Lane outright screamed, attracting the attention from everyone around. Paris and Rory clapped their hands over their ears until Lane's hands stopped flying in the air.

"He proposed!"

"Huntzberger? Yeah right," Paris said with a roll of her eyes. "With his reputation?"

Rory copied Paris' eye roll. "The secret is to have a relationship first, Paris."

"And I repeat, with his reputation?"

Rory sighed. "Honestly, we've been dating a year and a half. And actually talking about getting married instead of me dropping hints all the time."

Paris blinked. "This is serious."

"Yeah," Rory said with a smile. "May 28th."

Lane squealed again. "That's so exciting!"

"You've even set a date." It was still hard for Paris to grasp. As the only one of the trio that had grown up in true society, Paris often had more insights into the inner workings than Rory and Lane did. She'd heard about Logan Huntzberger years before Rory had ever met Honour. Actually, during the early years of Rory and Honour's relationship, it was one of the few things Paris and Honour could discuss with civility.

"Now I just have to get past his witch of a mother and I'll be set."

"And Emily's okay with this?" Paris asked disbelievingly.

"My grandmother doesn't know about this," Rory said sharply.

Paris and Lane blinked.

"A little bit of a falling out with the Gilmore matriarch?" Paris inquired.

"Something like that. I was dating Logan in November right in time for their annual little luncheon thing and I coincidentally didn't have an event that day so I was kind of forced to go. So we went. And Grandma met Logan and Robert and his family was there… I'd rather not talk about it."

Lane raised an eyebrow. "She's still hooked on you dating that—"

"Yes," Rory interrupted. Lane looked innocent and happy-go-lucky, but the fierce protective streak in the little Korean sometimes terrified even the mightiest. That protective streak had come into play with a vengeance when she'd found a broken Rory on her doorstep in Stars Hollow. "But actually, while we're all together, I wanted to talk to you guys about being bridesmaids."

Paris rolled her eyes. "I can walk a straight line, Hayden, and I have no particular desire to stand up there grinning like a brainless idiot."

Rory took a deep breath. Dealing with Paris took a lot of energy. "I figured you'd say that, actually."

"Really?"

Rory shrugged. "You've never been one for tradition and ceremony, Paris," she pointed out. "I figured a wedding didn't mean that much to you."

It wasn't often Paris went soft but Rory was one of her very few true friends. "Look, it's not that I don't want to be there, okay? I will be, and I'll play as nice as possible, I just…"

"Paris, it's really okay," Rory promised. "I thought I'd ask anyway."

Lane, on the other hand, was bouncing in her seat. "Do you even have to ask? You stood up as my maid of honour for me!"

Rory turned to regard her raven-haired friend seriously. "Which is the perfect segue to my actual choice for my maid of honour: my mother. You're okay with that, right?"

Lane looked at her like she was truly and certifiably crazy. "I thought it was going to be Lorelai for sure. I mean, she's like, everything to you."

"And your dad's going to walk you down the aisle?" Paris asked, shifting the focus of the conversation.

"Of course. I really can't think of anyone else who would do it."

They were silent for a second.

Lane took a sip of her drink. "So Zach told me the other day that Qwann was going to play guitar."

* * *

Honour looked at the caller ID on her ringing cell phone and flipped the device open. "Hello?"

"It's Sophie," came the voice over the line. "I need your help."

Honour tried to tamp down the worry and concern that immediately swamped her. Rory had told her about Sophie's foray into the world of Huntzberger and Honour had actually started preparing herself to answer questions that Rory couldn't and Logan wouldn't. "What's up, kiddo?"

"Um… what do you know about adoption?"

Honour paused for a minute to think. "Only what Rory's told me and that's all from when she went through the process with you."

Sophie sighed. "Do you think…? You know what? Never mind."

"Sophie…"

"Its just… why do you call Lorelai 'Mom'?"

Honour was a little surprised. It wasn't often that she called Lorelai 'Mom' just in the instances where she was truly acting like one. She'd done it before and it had just felt right. No one had corrected her and it soon blossomed into more than just rare times. "Lorelai's more of a mother than mine ever was. I figure, why not call her 'Mom'? Plus, there are many, many times I wish Lorelai was my mother."

"And Lorelai doesn't say anything."

"She asked me once why I did it," Honour replied honestly, "But that was about it."

There was a pause. "Do you think my mom and dad would be upset if I started calling someone else those names?"

Oh.

My.

God.

Honour was floored. "I don't know, sweetheart. I think they'd want you to be happy and if being happy meant calling someone else Mom or Dad, I think they'd really like that."

When Rory had adopted Sophie, she hadn't made Sophie call her Mom or forced Sophie to change her routine any more than it had to. Thus, Sophie called Rory 'Rory' and Rory was truly fine with that decision. However, the questions Sophie was asking led Honour to believe that maybe, just maybe, it would all be changing soon.

"I was thinking of asking Rory if it was okay that I called her 'Mom'. I mean, my mom was Mama anyway, so it's not like she'd be taking the place of my real mom, right?" Sophie said.

Honour could almost see the girl chewing on her lower lip. "I think Rory will be more than happy. And no one will ever place your real mom, honey." Honour had spoken to Heather Wilson a number of times during Sophie's treatments and various meetings they had about the charity's role in Sophie's life.

The line was silent again for a minute.

"Something else, Soph?"

"Do you think Logan would adopt me too?"

Tears sprung to Honour's eyes. "I think he'd love to," she said with all honesty. Logan loved Sophie like Honour was sure he'd love his own biological daughter. Nothing would make him happier at that moment – marrying Rory aside – than Sophie agreeing to allow him to adopt her. "Do you want me to talk to him?"

"No, I want to ask him myself. I mean, here's a second chance at a family, right? Like the American definition."

Sophie's perceptiveness never ceased to shock Honour. "Wow, sweetie, this… this is big."

"I know. But… its right isn't it?"

"I think the decision's up to you," Honour replied truthfully. "If this is what you want then I think, yeah, its right."

"It's what I want."

Honour couldn't stop a smile from curling her mouth. Sophie was already a daughter to both Rory and Logan, making it official, she knew was just a formality. "You're going to make them so happy, sweetie."

Sophie sighed. "I hope he'll say 'yes'."

Honour laughed. "Of course he'll say yes! He loves you dearly!"

"Thanks, Honour."

"Anytime, Soph."

"Okay, I'm going to go now."

"Okay."

"Bye."

"Bye.

* * *

Rory looked up at the Hayden manor with a knot of dread in her stomach. Elias had called the previous evening, providing them with details of where and when they were expected. In a way, she appreciated Elias putting this together for them. She knew if she and Logan had been left to pick a date to tell his family, it probably wouldn't be happening for a while. On the other hand, she hated him for the pressure and stress she'd been feeling all day.

"You ready, Ace?"

"To face your mother? Am I ever ready?"

Logan chuckled as he placed a hand at the small of her back, drawing pointless circles with his thumb. "We'll be okay."

"Consciously I know that, really I do. What I hate is the whole dread thing and the whole your mother is on the other side of this door thing," Rory replied. "And really, the latter is more terrifying."

"She's just my mother. I love you."

"And suddenly this doesn't seem so bad," she said with a smile, following the pressure of his hand and making the trek to the front door. With a deep breath, she pressed the bell. Both of them smiled at the maid who opened the door, handing her their coats. With her hands shaking like crazy, Rory grasped Logan's hand in hers, holding on tightly.

"I'm going to need circulation in that had at some point, Ace," he joked.

She looked up at him, about to reprimand him and question how he was so calm. Then she caught sight of the tension that had infused Logan's shoulders and the storm of emotions in his eyes. They were in this together. She took a deep breath, moving to stand in front of him before they made their way to the parlour. "I love you." She felt slightly better when his hand squeezed hers.

"We're in this together."

Rory breathed deep. "Let's go tell our families."

-------------------------------

Dinner and drinks had passed and it was over dessert that Mitchum finally addressed the reason they were there.

"As fantastic as this meal was, Francine, I'm a little confused as to why my father set this whole dinner up."

To Rory's surprise, it was Logan that spoke. "He did it for us, Dad."

She watched the spark of recognition flash in his eyes and shoot immediately to Rory's left hand, the hand she'd kept carefully and skilfully hidden through most of the night. Now, however, with one hand holding Logan's hand under the table, her left was currently holding her fork.

"You're getting married."

The silence was deafening for a few moments as Rory, Logan and Elias watched for the inevitable blow up of one of the Huntzbergers. To their utter shock it was Francine that spoke first.

"Lorelai this is just fantastic!" she gushed, folding her napkin on the table beside her and rushing to give her granddaughter a hug. "Absolutely fantastic! Have you set a date?"

"Um… we were thinking May," Rory said, still warily watching Shira's face get redder and redder.

"A spring wedding? How fantastic, isn't it fantastic Straub?"

Straub stood to shake Logan's hand vigorously. "Excellent, boy, excellent!"

Mitchum was the next one to react, a genuine smile spreading across his face. "This is excellent news. Logan, congratulations, Rory, best wishes. It took Logan long enough."

Then came the explosion.

"Long enough! Excellent news! Fantastic! Are you all out of your minds?"

Shira's voice was at a pitch Rory wasn't sure had ever been accomplished before on the natural plane. This was the reaction she'd been awaiting, the one she'd been most nervous about. She hadn't expected the Huntzberger woman to be okay with their impending marriage, but the small optimistic part of her had hoped Shira would give her a chance.

"This… this… _girl_ is not fit for the Huntzberger family. She's not bred for it, not prepared for it and certainly hasn't been raised in the proper way." She turned to Mitchum. "Fix this. Now."

Mitchum was slightly taken aback. "I can barely control what he does in the business, how do you think I can change his mind about the woman he wants to marry?"

Shira sputtered, actually sputtered in disbelief. "You're just going to let him go through with this? You're going to let him throw away everything?"

To everyone's surprise it was Elias who spoke up. "I have never seen Logan work as hard as he has since he started seeing Miss Hayden," he began, slowly and softly but carrying that patriarch air. "Lorelai has been excellent for your son, Shira."

"And that little brat of hers? What do you think of that?"

"Sophie is a darling girl," Elias responded, surprising most of the room with his knowledge of the young girl.

Rory thanked whatever deities were watching over her that the Haydens knew of Sophie and had known about her long before she'd met Logan. This could have just fallen apart had the news come as a surprise.

"So you're agreeing to this?" Shira asked in shock. Then she scoffed. "Of course you are. You adore that girl."

"Enough!" Elias said, "They are getting married."

"They are sitting right here," Logan murmured to Rory with a roll of his eyes.

Rory had to stifle her chuckle.

"And I'm sure they would me more than willing to allow you to help plan," Elias said, glancing over at Rory and Logan.

But she hated Shira! She didn't want to let the woman plan her wedding! However, that wasn't what was coming out of her mouth.

"Of course."

Logan's head snapped to face Rory at her acquiescence. She was seriously going to let his mother help? Oh, this wasn't going to be good. Not good at all.

-------------------------------

Logan and Rory walked into the house later that night, a little bit stunned. Sophie was already in bed – a surprise to both of them – and it left them time to process.

The car ride home had been silent, both of them lost in their thoughts and analysis of what had occurred over the course of the three hours they'd been there. It had given Rory a chance to puzzle through her response to Elias' unasked question of Shira helping plan the wedding.

If she was honest, she'd surprised herself with the answer. Then, as she thought about it, she realized not only was it her good-to-a-fault nature kicking in, but allowing Shira to help gave both Rory and Shira a chance to spend time together.

"I'm trying," she finally spoke as Logan set a mug of coffee in front of her.

"Huh?" He totally wasn't coherent enough to speak in full sentences.

"When I told your mother she could help? That's me trying."

"To do what?"

Rory took a deep breath. "Consciously, I highly doubt she'll ever accept me as your wife and consciously, I accept that. But then there's that stupid nice part of me that wishes she would. And this…" She shrugged. "If helping to plan this wedding is a way I can get her to accept me, then why not do it?"

Logan sighed, plopping down beside her. "I really don't think this is a good idea."

"Yeah, neither do I, but I think I have to do it."

"You have to put yourself through hell? You really are insane, aren't you?"

She nudged his shoulder in playful recrimination. "At least this way, if or when I give up, I can say that I tried."

He groaned, turning to drop his head to her shoulder. "Glutton for punishment," he said, standing by his earlier decision. "But I get where you're coming from."

Rory leaned back against the kitchen chair, dislodging his head. "I really am crazy, aren't I?"

"We'll have to wait and see," Logan replied. "Who knows, maybe we'll end up in an alternate universe where my mother does a complete turn-around and stops being fixated on the whole 'trophy wife' thing."

Rory sighed. "Yeah, I'm insane."

He looked up at her with a smile. "Can we just remember you said it and not me?"

They were sure Rory had just signed her soul to the devil.


	4. Meeting the Mistress

_**This almost got frustrating! It's so long!**_

_**Enjoy!**_

* * *

"Mr Huntzberger?"

Logan held up a finger to his secretary as he typed out the end of his thought. "Okay, what's up?"

"An Amber Martin for you, Mr Huntzberger."

Logan raised an eyebrow. Amber never called. "Patch her through and Sheila, for the millionth time, it's Logan. Mr Huntzberger is my father."

"Of course Mr Huntzberger, just a moment."

Logan chuckled to himself. The thirty-something redhead had been his secretary since he'd risenthrough the ranks and he'd been trying to get her to call him Logan ever since. The woman had not budged. "Amber, to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"

"I'm in New York," Amber's voice floated in reply.

"Why are you in New York?"

"Because I was bored of London?"

"You can't be tired of London, you love London."

Amber sighed. "I'm here for the annual awards ceremony," she finally relented. "I had to call your father, you know, Mr Boss-Man and he figured getting shown around the sites of the city by a touchy feely reporter was unfair and disrespectful…"

"And as a result you called me."

"Something like that. There was a sound like nails on a chalkboard in the background so I figured he'd forgone the quickie today in favour of hell."

"Ah, my mother's suggestion," Logan growled. He still hadn't even considered forgiving Shira for her outburst at the news of his engagement to Rory.

"And that's kind of a scary voice there Huntzberger."

"Yeah, sorry. She's responsible for the large majority of stress in my life at this point."

"Wanna share?"

Logan glanced at the clock on his computer. "I was just about to head out to lunch."

"Perfect."

"Where are you?"

"Um… New York."

"Cute, Martin."

"Downstairs, lobby."

"Down in 5."

* * *

Logan looked over at the blond woman in the cab beside him with a little bit of a grin. Part of him was irrationally apprehensive about being in public with Amber for fear of another tabloid extravaganza, but another part of him was so happy to see her. They had an interesting friendship, one that was not bound by time. They didn't talk when they were across the ocean from each other, but the minute they were in the same city, they were old friends. Amber was almost as easy as Rory to talk to. 

"Okay, so I meant to call you and tell you about an interesting reaction I had at work," Amber began. "And then you can tell me about the address you just rattled off to our cabbie here."

"A story?" Logan asked, instantly intrigued, absently fishing his cell phone from his pocket. "Hello?"

"Mr Huntzberger?"

"Yes?"

"My name is Emily Hunt, I'm calling from Sacred Heart Elementary School. A Lorelai Gilmore-Hayden gave me your number."

Rory's mother had given an elementary school his number? "Can I help you, Ms Hunt?"

"We have Sophie Wilson here, and she's not feeling well."

Logan stiffened. "May I speak with her?"

"One moment please."

"Logan?"

Oh, she sounded horrible. He cursed himself for not noticing anything this morning. "Hey, Half-Pint. They tell me you're not doing so good. What's wrong?"

"My tummy… and my head."

"Did you throw up?" he asked gently.

"Mmhmm."

"Okay, I'm on my way. You hang in there."

"Okay."

He heard the phone being shuffled around. "Mr Huntzberger?"

"Ms Hunt. I'm on my way to pick her up."

"Perfect. I'll make sure she's ready to go."

"Thank you." He hung up and relayed the new information to the cab driver before turning to Amber. "Little bit of a detour to pick Sophie up. She's sick and Rory wasn't picking up her phone."

"Sophie's your girlfriend's daughter?"

Logan smiled. "Yeah, greatest kid in the world."

Amber laughed. "That's what every parents says about their kid." At Logan's stunned face, Amber continued. "You are going to adopt her when you and Rory get married, aren't you?"

That brought a smile to Logan's face. "We are getting married."

Amber slapped his leg. Hard.

"Ow! Amber!"

"You're getting married and you didn't see fit to tell me?"

"I'm sorry!" he exclaimed, rubbing the leg where she'd hit him. "The announcement is supposed to come out in a couple of days." He jumped when Amber slapped him again. "Jesus, Martin!"

"You were going to let me find out from the announcement? You inconsiderate, unfriendly…"

Logan grinned. "Butt-faced miscreant?"

"Yes! Wait…"

"Rory," Logan supplied as the cab pulled to a stop in front of the school. "I'll be back in a second."

The office of the public elementary school Sophie attended was just off to the right of the main doors he pushed through purposefully. The secretary glanced up at his entrance and Logan almost cringed as recognition floated over her face. "I'm here to pick up Sophie Wilson."

"She's in the nurse's office," the secretary replied. "I'll have to get you to sign a few things…"

"I'd like to see Sophie first," Logan interrupted sharply. The repercussions of this particular choice were suddenly starting to flit through his mind. There was nothing forbidding anyone in the school from spreading the news that the Huntzberger heir had come to pick a little girl up from school.

"Second door on the right."

A brief flash of _Peter Pan_ in his head, Logan spun on his heel and left the office, gently opening the door down the hall.

"Logan?"

He stepped fully into the room at Sophie's soft voice. "Hey, Half-Pint," he replied softly, perching on the edge of the cot she was laying on. "How are you feeling?"

"Bad," Sophie admitted.

"Uh huh. Come on, sweetheart, sit up for me." It took a little bit of work but he finally got Sophie situated so he could carry her small body, her backpack and still leave an arm free to sign whatever he had to. He made his way back to the main office grimacing slightly as Sophie whimpered at the bright lights and turned to bury her face in his neck.

"Mr Huntzberger," a new man greeted approaching and holding out his hand. "Carl Barkley, I'm the principle here at Sacred Heart."

Logan shook the offered hand formally. "Can I get whatever I have to sign to take Sophie home?"

"Of course," the man replied, patting the pages on the secretary's desk and holding out a pen. "Sophie isn't often sick. She's one of our best students."

Logan smiled at the praise even though he couldn't take credit for it. "She's an overachiever."

Barkley was a little taken aback by the familiarity with which the young Huntzberger spoke of the brunette child. "She's brilliant."

Logan quickly finished whatever he had to fill out and gently shifted to get a better grip on Sophie. "Well, Mr Barkley, it was a pleasure meeting you but I need to get Sophie to bed."

"Of course."

Something was still unsettled in Logan's stomach as he left the school and made it to the waiting cab. He was thankful for Amber's presence as she carefully helped him get Sophie situated so he could climb in and rattle off the address for home. Then he pulled Sophie against him, allowing her to use his chest as a pillow as her hand bunched into his shirt. It would leave wrinkles, but ironing was a small price to pay.

"Logan, she's adorable," Amber said softly.

Logan sighed. "She's sick."

"Yeah," Amber agreed.

"Rory's not picking up her phone."

"I'm sure she has a good reason, Logan."

"Rory usually is the primary caretaker for Sophie when she's sick. I don't have the experience."

Amber chuckled softly. "She's no different than any other child. I'm sure you've taken care of Rory when she's been sick. Just think of what you do for her and what Honour and the nannies used to do for you when you were sick."

Logan took a deep breath. This was the first time he'd have to watch over Sophie alone while she was sick. He wasn't sure how to handle it. Sophie was more fragile in his mind than any other child. But Amber had made an excellent point: Rory and Sophie were exactly alike. He ran his fingers through Sophie's hair, mirroring the action that inevitably lulled Rory to sleep.

Amber helped him gather everything from the cab as they pulled in front of the house and even unlocked the door since Logan's arms were filled with Sophie.

"Kitchen's through there," Logan pointed to an open door only slightly further down the hall from the front foyer. "Just drop that stuff here and make yourself at home. I'm going to run her upstairs and tuck her in."

Amber was a little thrown by the familiarity with which Logan had directed her through the house, but did as asked. Hartford generally frowned on couples living together before marriage, an old-fashioned belief that had defied the modernization of generations. She paused at the pictures hanging happily on the walls. Most of them displayed a beautiful brunette, some with Sophie. The settings ranged from a silver and blue stage, to a hospital room, to a quaint cottage-looking home.

"That's Rory," Logan said, startling Amber from her train of thought and nodding towards a picture of the brunette and Sophie laughing in a park.

Amber grinned. "No wonder she caught your eye. When was this taken?"

"Charity soccer event. Not even Sophie could convince Rory to play."

"The infamous Catherine's Foundation."

"Yeah," Logan responded. "Come on. I'll cook us something while I heat Soph some soup." He led the way into the kitchen where he started pulling pots, pans and cans from the cupboards.

"Spend a lot of time here, huh?" Amber teased, taking a seat at the kitchen table.

Logan paused and blinked. "Sometimes I forget the things you know versus the things you don't. We moved in together ages ago."

"You moved in?" Amber asked with a huge grin. Maybe that old-fashioned tradition wasn't as deeply rooted as she thought.

"And proposed," Logan reminded with a grin, moving on to opening the can of star-noodle soup.

"I can't believe you're getting married!"

"Shh," Logan admonished with a laugh. "Sophie's sleeping."

"I'm so excited for you."

Logan nodded, moving about the kitchen. "May 28th."

"I'll mark my calendar," Amber promised.

"You have to meet Ace while you're here," he said, grinning over his shoulder. "She's… everything."

Amber laughed hard. "You are so whipped!"

"Nah," he said with a shrug. "I'm in love."

"You're corny," she teased. "I'm going to have to go brush my teeth after this."

They were silent while Logan stirred the soup on the stove.

"Mother was livid," Logan finally said, not looking up.

"I'm not surprised. For as long as I've known you, you and your mother have never agreed."

"Rory invited her to help plan the wedding."

"The woman's certifiably insane."

"I know," Logan said, pulling a bowl from the cupboard to his left. "And she knows it's probably a lost cause. She just hates it when people hate her."

Amber could see where Rory was coming from. Logan fought a lot with his family. From what Logan had told her, Rory hated confrontation.

Logan was just ladling out soup for Sophie when he heard the front door swing open and the clatter of objects falling to the floor.

"Logan?"

"Kitchen, Ace," he called back.

"Where's Sophie?"

Logan looked up at his frazzled fiancée. "Asleep upstairs. I was just about to go wake her up."

Rory ran a hand through her hair. "My phone was off. I was in a meeting and when I called the school the secretary said they'd called Mom and then you and Sheila said you weren't back from lunch yet and the only place I could think of other than your office was home…"

"Everything's fine," Logan reassured, leaving his position at the stove to give her a hug. "Have you eaten?"

Rory breathed out a sigh, her arms still tightly wrapped around him. "No. I rushed home when… oh! Hi." Rory had noticed Amber.

"Ace, meet Amber. Amber, my lovingly paranoid fiancée, Rory Hayden," Logan introduced, kissing Rory's head.

"It's so great to finally meet you," Amber said, offering her hand for Rory to shake. "And I'm glad you're here. Any more gushing about you and I was going to offer to do his nails."

Rory blushed and chuckled nervously, shaking Amber's outstretched hand. Her mind was whirling a mil a minute trying to place where she'd seen or heard of Amber. The accent, the name, the familiarity… "The picture."

Logan watched Rory's mind work a little worried about the outcome. Her whispered words made his heart race. "Amber's in New York for the annual company awards ceremony," he said, hoping to pre-empt any bad reaction on Rory's part.

"And your mother suggested you show her around?"

He wasn't sure about the comment, but took comfort in the fact that his arms were still wrapped solidly around her waist. Before he could answer, Amber spoke up.

"So you know the scheming manipulative tendencies of Cruella DeVille. It was probably her idea."

Rory sighed. She had no reason to believe that the blond currently sitting in her kitchen had any intention of coming between her and Logan except for one picture and an article he'd rationalized.

"Hey, why don't you go wake up Sophie, huh? You can throw _Ever After_ into the DVD player and she can eat in the living room." He wanted a few minutes to fill Amber in on the torturous days that had followed his last trip to London. He was thankful when Rory didn't protest.

Amber smiled slightly as they listened to Rory's footsteps on the stairs. "The pictures don't do her justice."

"Mother published an article about us dating," he blurted.

Amber raised an eyebrow. "You and Rory? I highly doubt that."

"You an me."

"Oh." She sat shocked for a minute before bursting into side-splitting laughter. "I love you, you know that, but I know too many of your dirty secrets to date you."

"I know that," Logan agreed as Amber calmed down. "But Rory didn't."

Amber nodded in understanding. "You fought."

"She stopped talking to me, actually. I was baffled until Honour stormed my office and hit me with the newspaper."

"I knew I always liked your sister. So what happened?"

Logan shrugged. "We fought, yelled, said 'I love you' then I took her and Sophie out for dinner."

"Shira's a bitch."

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry about that."

"It's water under the bridge now, I think. I mean, I'm going to marry her, Mother's approval or not."

"Damn right! The fact that the two of you are still strong is a testament to that."

Logan smiled. "Thanks Amber."

Rory stepped into the kitchen looking extremely worried. "I gave her Tylenol to try and get her fever down. She's in the living room."

"Okay, I'll run this out to her," he said, brandishing the bowl of soup. He kissed Rory slowly as he passed. "Play nice."

It left Rory and Amber in the kitchen.

"I'm sorry," they both began simultaneously.

Rory was the one to pick up after they'd stopped chuckling. "I have no reason to hate you, I was just a little surprised."

"I just called him this morning. We were going to go out to lunch, catch up and all, but then he got the call from your daughter's school. He was really worried."

Rory couldn't stop her smile. "He dotes on her."

"He loves her. He loves you."

Rory's eyes softened with genuine and deep-rooted affection. "Yeah."

"I'm sorry about the article. About Shira."

Rory shrugged. "The article brought more good than harm so I guess, in a way, I should thank you. Or thank Shira, actually."

Amber laughed. "Can you please thank Shira? Can I be there?"

Rory smiled. Maybe meeting Amber wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

Logan breathed out a sigh of relief when he headed back to the kitchen to hear Rory's quiet laughter. Sophie had curled up in his lap when he'd taken a seat at her feet and he'd indulged her the better part of a half an hour until she'd dozed off. He leaned against the doorjamb, watching the women chat away as if they too were old friends. 

"You have to come," Rory was saying. "If you're going to be in town that is. It's always a blast."

"I'm assuming I'll still be here," Amber admitted. "This stupid awards ceremony follows a week of meetings and since Daddy has to be here, so do I."

Rory smiled sympathetically. "Ouch."

"Yeah.' Amber looked up at him. "Everything okay?"

He met Rory's eyes instead of Amber's. "She's asleep in the living room."

"The flu was going around the school," Rory revealed. "I wouldn't be surprised if that's what she's got." Then she waved to Amber. "I was just talking about the carnival coming up. Amber says she'll probably be here."

"From what I've heard from Honour it's shaping up to be quite the party. I think Finn and Colin are planning to show up."

Rory smiled. "Steph's taking a shift at the kissing booth."

Logan grinned lecherously. "And you?"

Amber watched their interaction with fascination. She'd never _ever_ seen Logan so at ease with a woman. She'd seen him flirt, seen him take women to bed, but never had he seemed so completely at ease or happy as he did with this woman. Rory Hayden outright made Logan happy and there was nothing Amber could say about that.

"So what do you say?"

Amber brought her attention back to the couple in front of her. "Sorry?"

"Would you like to come?" Rory asked happily. "It'll give you something to do other than those meetings you seem to love so much."

Amber smiled. "That sounds like a fantastic idea. When?"

"Friday," Logan supplied heading back to the stove after teasing Rory enough. "It's down in Stars Hollow, but Rory and I can give you a ride down there."

"Stars Hollow?"

"I grew up there," Rory replied. "I love the town."

"It's the perfect little place to hold a carnival actually. You in?"

Amber smiled. "Yeah."

"Great!" Rory exclaimed. "We'll pick you up on our way." Then she looked over to Logan a little pout on her lips. "Lemon chicken?"

"Then you won't eat dinner," Logan admonished.

"Neither will Sophie. She's sick."

With a sigh, Logan dug through the freezer coming out with a couple of chicken breasts. He waved them at her with a roll of his eyes. "Fine, you win."

Rory clapped happily before returning to Amber. "We're even hoping to bolt down a Ferris Wheel…"


	5. Cancer Camp Adoption

**_One, I'm sorry this took longer than the last couple. I couldn't exactly decide what story arcs I wanted to start with this chapter. It took me a while to get it going. Two, 105 reviews on 4 chapters is like a dream come true. You guys are fantastic._**

**_Oh, and I'd never kill off Sophie. I love her too much. It's just the flu, I swear._**

* * *

**End of June 2011**

"Lorelai Leigh Gilmore-Hayden, I am appalled at your manners, young lady! An announcement! _That_ is how we find out you are getting married! And how dare you leave the Gilmore name out of the release! We raised you better than that…"

Rory rolled her eyes as she moved about the office at home the day the engagement announcement had been published. "You didn't raise me at all Grandma," she sing-songed to herself as Emily Gilmore's voice ranted on. She'd pulled a Lorelai Gilmore in not telling her Gilmore grandparents about her engagement and not ensuring Elias invited them to the family dinner where they'd broken the news to the rest, but she was still stinging from their refusal to believe her version of The Break-Up.

They chose a lying, cheating, arrogant, selfish smarmy bastard over their wholesome, pure, kind, never-told-a-lie granddaughter and it had _hurt._ It was a juvenile choice, but her grandmother's angry rant was making her feel quite a bit better about the whole thing.

Finally annoyed with the constant ranting, Rory deleted the message and let the next one play.

"Rory, it's your grandfather. I wanted to wish you the best in your upcoming nuptials."

Rory smiled. It pained her to shut out her grandfather as well as her grandmother. Richard Gilmore was a teddy bear.

Then Richard sighed. "Rory, we need to talk. I'm sorry we didn't wait for your explanation years ago. It wasn't fair to you for your grandmother to go ahead and call Marcy to ensure everything was okay between our families."

Rory sighed. It really wasn't fair to fault Richard for Emily's on-going hatred of her decision. Richard had actually refrained from passing judgement on the whole ordeal and Rory found herself picking up the phone and dialling before the message had even finished.

"Hi, Richard Gilmore please." She absently chewed on her thumb nail as she waited for her grandfather to pick up.

"This is Richard Gilmore."

"Hi Grandpa."

"Rory?"

"Yeah, its me." She paused. "I got your message. I, um, I wanted to say thanks. For the congratulations and everything."

"You're welcome, Rory." It was his turn to pause. "I am sorry, Rory."

She smiled slightly even though her grandfather couldn't see it. "You didn't know. And you didn't pass judgement."

"Your grandmother wants what's best."

"Do me a favour Grandpa," Rory began tightly. "Don't try and defend her? I'm… I'm getting married. I'm happy. Really, really happy. I'm not going back." She preferred to avoid talking about anything to do with her grandmother. There was very little Emily could do to rectify her reaction and defence of someone else's family.

Richard sighed. "I'm proud of you, Rory."

Rory blinked, unsure of when the conversation had shifted. She thanked Sophie for choosing that moment to race by the office en route to the bathroom. She let out a dramatic sigh for her grandfather's benefit. "Grandpa, I have to go. Sophie's sick and…"

"Go. Best wishes, Rory."

As she followed Sophie's footsteps, her mind was completely preoccupied with the day she told her family she'd ended her last long-term relationship. She loved her family, each person, and she'd done a lot in her life to try and make them happy. It had been a hard, uphill battle when it came to her maternal and paternal grandparents. It was a horrible case of disappointing one side and pleasing the other. Even now it seemed like she was being pulled in two different directions. But marrying Logan was _her_ choice.

Sophie was leaning against the wall when Rory made it to the doorway. Without thinking, Rory sat down beside her daughter, reaching out to pull her close and rub her back. Sophie's fever had broken the previous day but the little stomach bug still lived on. Rory had thought about taking her to the hospital, but the number of times Sophie had raced to the bathroom over the course of the week had discouraged that particular thought.

"Honey, I'm home!"

Rory smiled as Logan's voice floated through the hallways. She didn't want to yell for fear of the echo off the bathroom tiles and delicate ears, but she did hear Logan methodically make his way through the hall.

Logan surveyed the scene through the bathroom door and sighed. He felt terrible for little Sophie – well, not-so-little Sophie, really – and the exhaustion she'd been dealing with. Rory had worked at home, but Logan had continued to go into the office. As a result, Rory always got up with Sophie during the night if something was wrong. He knew Rory was tired too.

He padded across the tile floor, working with Rory to lift Sophie into his arms. He glanced down at Rory's glazed eyes and sighed. _Processing_, he thought to himself. _I'll come back for her._

Logan took Sophie upstairs, tucking her snugly into bed. He tenderly brushed hair out of her sleeping face.

"Daddy?" Sophie whispered, blinking sleepy, weak eyes open.

Logan sucked in a breath. "It's Logan, sweetheart."

Sophie murmured slightly, curling herself in tighter between the sheets. "Same thing. Honour said my daddy wouldn't mind if you were my daddy too."

Logan's breath caught in his throat. He was shocked. Sophie _wanted_ him to be her father. Well, he supposed, fathers could claim blood relation. Sophie wanted him to be her daddy.

Daddy.

The single word made his heart soar and his chest ache. He was already going through his schedule on Monday to see if there was any way he could make time to see his lawyer about a new adoption agreement.

_And Sophie's birthday is coming up. Rory won't fight me on it – better check just to make sure – and it'll be the greatest birthday present ever._

* * *

Rory and Honour sat calmly at a table in the little café around the corner from Foundation headquarters Tuesday morning. 

"What's Soph doing this summer?" Honour inquired, tearing at the bagel she'd bought to substitute for the breakfast she hadn't eaten.

"She's a little torn," Rory admitted.

"She's feeling better, right?"

"She woke up Sunday feeling like she could run a marathon. She kept toast and soup down on Saturday and went to school yesterday…" Rory said, trailing off with a shrug.

"I'm glad she's better."

"Hannah's parents called," Rory said after a moment's silence.

"About her relapse, I know. It won't be a big deal to pick up again. Adam and Lucas have both been out of chemo for months and the doctors are giving excellent chances that they'll be fine," Honour replied. It was never a good day at the Foundation when someone called to request financial aid because of a relapse.

Rory stirred her coffee absently. "Sophie wants to stay here. She was supposed to go to a science camp with Hannah for two weeks."

The blond nodded in understanding. "Now Soph doesn't want to go. She's always made friends fast though, I'm sure she'll be fine."

"I don't think it's the making friends part that has Sophie dropping out," Rory said carefully. "Soph just wants to be there for Hannah."

"I forgot they were in the hospital together," Honour admitted, turning around and discarding the remnants of her bagel in the nearby garbage can. All of a sudden, she really wasn't that hungry any more.

"Yeah. So Sophie doesn't want Hannah going through it alone."

Honour was silent for a moment. "Why don't we check with the hospital and see if they'll let us run a day camp?" Honour knew Rory wanted Sophie to live as regular a life as possible now that it seemed the cancer wasn't coming back. Knock on wood, of course.

"We don't have the staff to do it," Rory pointed out logically.

"We could do it, Ror," Honour insisted, already going through the things they probably had to do. "We could use the staff in the hospital, pay some of the candy-stripers instead of just leaving them as volunteers."

"And what about safety precautions?"

"Well, it's in the hospital so it won't be a big deal to call someone if something happens. And we don't have to make it an intense schedule, just something easy and simple. Some arts and crafts, maybe some simple games…"

Rory was a little apprehensive about the idea. It was a brilliant idea, she admitted that much, but the logistics of it were huge. "Honour…"

But the blond had been bitten by the bug. "Look, you take over most of the other stuff for the Foundation, and I'll work on the camp, okay? Just… trust me?"

Rory sighed. She had no reason not to. "Fine."

Honour outright squealed. She'd been feeling down since hearing about Hannah's relapse, but her day was looking suspiciously brighter. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

* * *

Logan stepped into the office at home, watching Rory as she typed away at her computer. The pile beside her looked huge and he sympathized with heavy work loads. "That's a lot of paper." 

Rory sighed. "Honour decided today she wants to run a day camp out of the hospitals."

"Because Sophie won't go to camp?"

"Right."

Logan nodded, fiddling with the letter-sized envelope in his hands. Rory hadn't looked up and thus, he got a bit of a chance to think up how he wanted to approach this. "Hey, Ace?"

"Mmhmm?"

"Did I tell you Sophie called me Daddy the other day?"

That caught Rory's attention. Fast. "She what?"

"I corrected her," Logan admitted, "But it got me thinking. We're getting married, and I already think of Sophie as my own daughter."

Rory blinked. Slowly, understanding dawned. "You want to adopt her."

"Yeah. I have the papers, and I thought it would be a good birthday present, but I wanted to check with you first. I mean, she's your daughter."

Tears were already gathering in Rory's eyes. Sometimes, Logan was way too sweet for his own good. "Yes."

"What?"

"Of course! Yes, yes, yes!"

Logan let out a soft 'oomph' as Rory collided with his body. Eventually, she backed up just a touch. "I didn't want to do anything without checking with you, but I figure if I file the papers tomorrow they'll be final by the time Sophie's birthday comes around."

Rory hugged him tightly again. "You are the greatest man ever," she whispered against his shoulder. "And I know you'll be a brilliant father to Sophie."

Logan just grinned. A whole family who loved him. For a boy who had grown up with nannies and little affection from his parents, it was a dream come true.


	6. Shifts

**2nd Week of July 2011**

It had taken her forever to even get her idea off the ground, but if there was something Honour Huntzberger definitely was, it was determined. Others called it stubborn, but determined sounded so much nicer. Eventually, she'd posted a job offer on a site for a camp co-ordinator. After twenty eight interviews – eighteen of which were males and so obviously hitting on her – Honour was about ready to give up. She was just packing her papers away someone timidly knocked on the door.

"Ms. Huntzberger? Is it too late to get an interview for the camp position?"

Honour blinked at the brunette man that had poked his head into the room. "If you can tell me why the charity's called Catherine's Foundation," she bargained. There was no way she was going to go through another interview with a man that just kept hitting on her. And if he asked even one question about Lorelai Hayden, she would slaughter him, reputation be damned.

"It…It wasn't listed in my research, ma'am," he admitted. "Just that you helped children with terminal illnesses and treatments."

Well, she gave him credit. He hadn't hit on her yet. "Have a seat, Mr…?"

"Uh… Cole. Josh Cole."

Honour held out her hand over the desk. "Honour Huntzberger."

Josh let out a little breathy laugh. "And that's not intimidating."

Honour blinked. This was a totally different interview. "How did you hear about this?"

"Honestly? The co-ordinator of the camp I usually work at mentioned it. He runs a camp for the disabled."

"And you thought this was…?"

"I'm not going to be able to run that camp until the man retires and it doesn't look like it'll be anytime soon. I like working with those kids, but I can't just be Head Rec Counsellor forever, you know?"

"So this camp is a way to further your career?"

Josh blinked. This was _hard_. "No, ma'am, not at all. I've always worked with disabled kids. My older brother was diagnosed with heart disease when I was sixteen and they couldn't find a donor for him. He died."

And Honour's attitude did a 180 degree turn. "I'm sorry," she said sincerely. "But you talk about it easily enough."

"I had a lot of time to come to terms with it, I guess. I mean, it wasn't sudden. It was almost a relief."

"Yeah, I know that feeling," Honour agreed. It was enough for Honour. Subconsciously, and as terrible as it had sounded in her head, she'd been looking for someone who had lost someone to disease. She felt someone like that was more likely to understand the necessary dedication needed to work with these kids. "Okay, Mr Cole, you're my best interview, so if you have a résumé I can look at…"

Josh handed over a piece of paper from the backpack he'd been carrying. "I have reference letters too, if you'd like them."

"The only reference I need is the story about your brother," Honour admitted, taking the paper and going over it carefully. "My friend and neighbour died of cancer. That's why there's Catherine's Foundation. This charity means the world to me and my partner."

"I'm sorry to hear that. About your friend I mean."

Honour smiled slightly. "Yeah, well, she's in a better place. It was bad to watch." They were silent for a minute as Honour went over the page in front of her. "Here's what I'll suggest: we have a carnival coming up in a week. Why don't you come, see what kind of huge events we throw for the kids, and get a feel for some of the families we support. Then Rory can see you too and we can make a final decision from there, okay?"

"Um… okay. Where's the carnival?"

"Stars Hollow. Do you know where that is?"

"I can't say I do," Josh admitted. "Small town?"

"Yeah, Rory's small town. Why don't we meet here and I'll give you a ride down. It's usually easier than trying to give you directions," Honour proposed.

"Uh, sure. My numbers are on the résumé."

Honour smiled, her first genuine smile since she'd started the interviews. "Thank you for coming in Mr Cole."

* * *

**One Week Later**

Rory surveyed the carnival in front of her with a satisfied smile on her face. It had taken the better part of four months to get the entire thing ironed out – Taylor had been the thorn in Rory's side from day one – but they'd done it. Stars Hollow had been completely transformed. Children were running this way and that, parents on their heels and it looked like everyone was having a fantastic time.

"You did good, kid."

Rory spun to grin at her father, holding Kitty's hand. "Thanks Dad," she said. "I'm just glad it all came together."

"Honour says there's enough emergency medical personnel for our own hospital."

Rory shrugged. "We took the invitation to hospitals so there are kids with other illnesses that may be treatable. Plus, some of the kids that were feeling good today are here and then there's the safety precautions…"

"I get it," Christopher said with a smile. "Well, Kitty wanted to go see the clowns."

"And Mommy's face painting," the nine-year-old spoke up.

"And Mommy's face painting," Christopher dutifully parroted. "Say goodbye before you leave."

"Will do. Hey, maybe Logan, Sophie and I'll stay for a Luke's dinner," Rory proposed.

"Deal."

She watched them walk off, jumping slightly as an arm slid around her waist. "So?" Logan asked, pressing a kiss to her temple.

Rory grinned. "So, I think you owe me a teddy bear."

Logan groaned good naturedly. "Fine, but I get to pick the game."

She pushed herself up on her toes, kissing him sweetly. "Deal."

* * *

Rory stood with Logan behind Colin and Finn at Miss Patty's fortune telling booth, watching both men jump from side to side.

"Please let her tell me my father's going to croak soon," Colin was begging the air.

Finn held out his hand to them. "See this line here? It's going to tell me how many redheads I'll have."

Rory rolled her eyes. "You actually need someone to count for you? And Colin, what are you doing here? Steph's shift at the kissing booth starts in five minutes."

Colin glared at her. "Drop it Hayden. Meddling doesn't suit you."

Rory smirked absently entwining her hand with Logan's. "But my grandmother does it so well."

"Yeah, well, it's not genetic. Stop."

"Pansy," Rory shot at him. "Coward."

All three boys looked at her like she'd grown three more heads.

"You have been hanging around Logan way too much," Colin finally said. "That's one hell of a backbone."

"Oh please. Prove to me that what I said isn't true and I'll apologize."

Colin huffed. "Fine."

Logan and Finn blinked as Colin strode purposefully across the carnival, the kissing booth in perfect line with the fortune telling. Rory just smirked, watching the McCrae heir determinedly approaching her blond friend, wrapping an arm around her waist and kissing her. Rory jumped up and down, clapping happily and holding her hand out to the other two boys.

"Pay up, gentlemen. I believe that's a hundred bucks from both of you."

Logan shook his head as he handed the bill over to his fiancée. "How did you do it?"

"Remind me never to bet the woman again," Finn grumbled as he too handed her a hundred dollar bill.

Rory just grinned, folding the money up purposefully and making a show of tucking it away. "Didn't I tell you never leave matchmaking to the guys? And he says meddling's not in my genetics."

"Matchmaking? Who are we getting together?" Honour asked, approaching the small group. They'd actually stepped out of the line, the amusement of watching Colin prove Rory wrong much more important than actually seeing Miss Patty.

"Colin and Steph," Rory answered. "I just made two hundred bucks."

Honour laughed. "Genetics really have blessed you, haven't they?"

Rory just shrugged. Then her attention shifted to the man standing beside Honour. To the extent of Rory's knowledge, Honour didn't have a boyfriend, no was she really dating. The charity meant to much to her to allow herself to get wrapped up in another guy without knowing his opinion on the whole thing. Most of the guys Honour had ever gone out with didn't carry the same love for it that Honour did. "Who are you?"

Logan nudged her. "Play nice," he advised.

Rory looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "You're not nervous about this?" she asked lowly, loud enough for only Logan to hear.

"Until he's introduced as a boyfriend, I'm hands off. Honour and I made that deal years ago."

Rory snorted.

"This is Josh," Honour spoke up. "He's going to help me co-ordinate the camp."

Rory eyed the man critically. "Uh huh."

"Stop it, Rory. I wanted him to get a feel for some of the things we do at the Foundation, that's all," Honour said huffily. "He's the best choice."

"You did interviews?" Rory asked, watching as Josh continued to take in all of the children and families running around. She felt herself soften when she saw a genuine smile spread across the man's face.

"Twenty-nine of them. Almost every single guy hit on me. The women who wanted to run it definitely didn't strike me as camp material," Honour replied.

Rory was silent for a minute before shrugging. "Okay."

"Just like that?"

"Hey, I'm not one to be judgemental."

"Unless there was the potential of me dating him, right?"

Logan watched the girls bicker, trying not to laugh. He held out his hand to the man. "Logan Huntzberger, Honour's brother. This is normal."

"Normal?" Josh asked in confusion.

"Rory and Honour run the charity together. This bickering? Normal."

Josh nodded. When Honour had listed off some of the names that were going to be present, he'd been a little intimidated. A lot of big names attended these things. It hadn't been until Honour had parked and rushed off to quickly talk to the people at the entrance booth that Josh had realized those big names were people too. It looked like everyone was really, truly having fun. And the crowd was young. "Rory's the brunette then?"

Logan nodded. "Lorelai Hayden."

Josh was about to ask another question when he saw Logan look down. There was a little girl, no more than eight, Josh thought, but he couldn't judge age to save his life.

"'scuse me, mister, but my mom got lost. Do you think you could help me find her?"

Logan laughed. "Cute, Soph. Did you get a chance to dunk Joey, like you wanted?"

Rory had called upon the help of some of the old families with children that hadn't needed the charity in years. Some of the older teens ran the booths and, apparently, were sitting, ready, at the dunk tank.

"Yup! He called me a weakling."

"And then you sunk him, good job! Josh, this is Sophie. She used to be with the charity. Sophie, this is Josh. He's going to help Honour do the camps at the hospitals," Logan introduced.

"Cool! My friend Hannah's back in the hospital. She wanted to go to camp so bad…"

"Well, we'll bring camp to her, okay?" Josh proposed, holding out his hand as if making a deal.

"Sweet! I like you already."

Logan's hearty laugh drew the attention of Honour, Rory and Finn, who had been watching the fall out from Colin's new found courage.

"Hey sweetheart," Rory greeted. "Did you go see Lorelai at the face painting?"

"Knew I forgot something! Hey, can Josh come? I'll show him around?"

Rory blinked. Sophie didn't usually take to people that fast. But then again, she wasn't usually as in her element as she was at these things. Here, she didn't have to be too careful. Here, she was a kid without homework, without a care in the world.

"Honour can come too, if you're worried."

Rory grinned. "Sure."

As Sophie dragged Honour and Josh away, Colin ambled over looking catatonic.

"Colin, mate, you okay?" Finn asked, looking at his friend critically. The trio watched as Colin stood for a moment before shaking his head to get his mind back.

"Um… I'm… I have… I forgot something… At home… I'm sorry Rory."

Then he was gone.

Rory looked between the other two musketeers. "I'll go find Steph."

----------------------------------------------

Rory had searched the entire grounds before venturing towards the houses and stores. It surprised her to find Steph swinging back and forth on her parents' front porch. "Everything okay?" she called to her friend.

Steph looked up, a bit startled. "Um…no… well, maybe… I don't know."

Rory stood at the bottom of the steps silently for a minute. When she saw Steph move over, she climbed the stairs to sit beside her friend. They both childishly pushed off the porch, catapulting the swing into the calming back-and-forth cadence that had lulled her to sleep many-a-time.

Steph took a deep breath. "Colin kissed me."

Rory debated for a minute. "I know."

"You know?" Steph groaned.

"It was slightly public, there, Steph. The fact that we were watching for it didn't help matters."

"You were watching for it!? You and who?"

"Logan. Finn. Stop fussing. You wanted it."

"But in public like that?" Steph shook her head. "Even if I do have a crush on Colin-"

"You're in love with him," Rory corrected.

"-I'd always thought our first kiss would be different. I mean, I didn't even get a chance to kiss him back."

Rory's eyes widened as her eyebrows flew to her hairline. "You didn't?"

Steph shook her head. "Not the first time. It happened so fast."

"Then?"

Steph shrugged. "There was a second and the next thing I can remember is my stomach dropping."

Rory smiled. "Yeah, I get that with Logan."

"Don't tell me that!" Steph groaned, dropping her head back on the swing.

"You kissed him back the second time?"

Steph nodded her head. "I hate this. Everything's going to be all screwed up."

Rory rolled her eyes. "You're being a bit of a drama queen. I mean, you basically just found out he's in love with you too," she pointed out logically. "I don't see how this screws anything up."

Steph sighed. "Okay, so I might have lied when I implied this was our first kiss."

Rory's eyes widened. "I'm going to go out on a limb and say Finn and Logan don't know about it?"

Steph snorted. "We were both tipsy; chalked it up to the alcohol and called it a mistake."

"Ouch," Rory sympathized with a wince.

"He closed off for weeks after that. It was brutal."

Rory just nodded, staring into the bit of the carnival they could see from the front porch. She wasn't exactly sure what to say. So they sat, silently, puzzling over the convoluted brains of men.

* * *

**July 24th, 2011**

Balloons covered the Gilmore-Hayden home in Stars Hollow in celebration of turning a whole decade old. The birthday girl watched all of the people gathered in groups and clusters around the living room with a huge grin. If there was one thing she loved, it was the hoopla the entire family went through for a holiday, birthday or other special occasion.

Today was _her_ day and no one let her forget it.

It had started that morning when she woke to the smell of bacon and wandered downstairs. There at the stove was Logan, flipping bacon while he kept an eye on the seldom-used waffle maker making her a birthday breakfast.

"Even though birthdays weren't big in the Huntzberger mansion, they're big in this house," Logan had told her with a grin. "And what better way to start a fantastic birthday than with a fantastic birthday breakfast?"

Their next stop had simply been Stars Hollow and even in it's simplicity, considering the fact that none of her friends from school or the hospital were around, it was a birthday Sophie loved. She had her family, she had Stars Hollow and she had Finn, Colin, Stephanie and Honour.

She turned as she noticed someone sitting on her chair and looked up into Lorelai's face.

"So, how's the birthday, kiddo?" she asked happily, presenting Sophie with the customary crown.

Sophie carefully placed it on her head, hoping she hadn't tangled any curls in the plastic. "Fantastic," she replied. "But isn't it always?"

Both women watched as Kirk played Pin the Tail on the Donkey, his spinning having made him so disoriented he ended up sticking the pin into Taylor's rear instead. Everyone burst into laughter as Kirk whipped off the blindfold then, realizing what he'd done, scampered around the couch.

"Alright, Princess, I think you should open your presents," Babette decided, handing over a bag, tissue paper overflowing from the top.

Sophie took the bag carefully, surprised by it's weight. She pulled out a book and blinked. "_Garden Gnomes for Dummies_," she read off the title. She looked up to Rory who was stifling a laugh. "Thanks, Babette."

"It's from me and Morey, Princess."

Sophie found the tall musician in the crowd. "Thanks Morey."

"Sure thing, Sophie."

"Mine next, mine next!" Kirk called.

Sophie made her way methodically through each of the gifts in the pile, gathering her own impressive collection of books and other paraphernalia. Some of the gifts – like the garden gnome Gypsy gave her per Babette's suggestion – were perfect Stars Hollow while others – the _Harry Potter_ movies on DVD from the Gilmore-Haydens – were more Sophie's taste.

"Okay, Half-Pint, there's one more present for you," Logan announced over the chattering crowd. The room went suspiciously silent as he approached her, digging in the pocket of his jacket. He presented her with a letter sized envelope.

"What's this?" Sophie asked, flipping the envelope over in her hands. She looked up at Rory and Logan as she slid a finger under the flap.

"Open it, Rory encouraged.

Sophie turned her attention to the envelope, pulling the paper out and unfolding it. Her eyes scanned the words, then went back to the beginning of the letter and started again. By this point, the entire room was silent. She looked up, eyes glassy.

"Is this real?"

"Well, it's a photocopy, but I have the original at home," Logan admitted.

"But everything else about it is real?"

Logan nodded. "Its real."

Sophie leapt out of her seat, racing around people, gifts, paper and everything else until she banged hard into Logan's legs. "This is the best birthday _ever_," she said into his knee.

Meanwhile, Lorelai picked up the letter Sophie had left behind on the chair.

_Mr Huntzberger,_

_It is my pleasure to inform you that the paper work for the adoption of Ms. Sophie Wilson officially came through today. You now share custody of Ms Wilson with Ms Lorelai Gilmore-Hayden. Congratulations._

_Ross Michaels  
Attorney at Law_


	7. Like Deep Throat is to Woodward

**Early September 2011**

Sophie walked through the empty halls of Sacred Heart Elementary School on her way to the principal's office. He'd called her down to talk to her and Sophie was busy wracking her brain to come up with what he would want to speak with her about. She hadn't done anything wrong at any point in the last week or so since she'd been back to school. Her teacher, a strict but kind woman by the name of Mrs Bittle, barely even knew her name.

Tentatively, she knocked on the door of the principal's office. The door swung open presenting Ms Hunt, the secretary. "Sophie, perfect. Come on in."

Sophie stepped into the room and froze.

Two men sat in front of Mr Barkley's desk and one of them held a camera. Logan and Rory weren't idiots. They knew if things came out after their engagement announcement, Sophie could be a target and they'd been careful to sit down and talk to her about the paparazzi and the press. This was the first time she'd ever had to face them on her own.

Sophie was bright for a ten-year-old and Rory and Logan had explained that they were both very important people. Sure, the large majority of her adoptive parents cared more for her well-being than any reputation that could be created from a news article, but Sophie had seen first hand what the news could do to Rory and Logan's relationship. Rory and Logan, more the latter than the former, had even gone as far as to outline how to spot undercover reporters.

_I'm only ten!_ her mind screamed. _What could they want with me?_

"Sophie, have a seat," Mr Barkley invited and the photographer moved out of his seat to give it to her.

Tentatively, Sophie took the seat, keeping her gaze fixed on the principal. When her parents got a hold of this… "Did I do something wrong Mr Barkley?" she asked, playing the perfect part of the innocent little girl terrified to be in the principal's office. Well, terrified wasn't a far cry from what Sophie was feeling, really.

He chuckled, shooting a glance at the reporter still seated. "Of course not, Sophie. You're our best student."

Sophie kept her gaze fixed on her principal but saw the reporter scribbling in a small notebook. She tried to take an indiscernible deep breath. She'd been coached in this. Logan had more experience with the press than she did. He'd told her that her most important weapon was her attitude. If she stayed calm and vague they couldn't hold anything over her head. "Then I don't understand why I'm here. I have classes, I have work."

"Sophie, these two men are from _The National Enquirer_," Barkley said, waving to the reporter and the photographer. "Jason Grenier, Jerry Stevens, this is Sophie Wilson."

_The National Enquirer_? Ooh, Logan was really going to kill Barkley when he got a hold of this. "I still don't understand why I need to be here," Sophie said carefully.

"We just want to talk to you," the reporter, Grenier, began.

_Yeah, talk to me my rear end. You want to interrogate me. You want me to be Deep Throat to your Woodward and Bernstein,_ Sophie thought to herself. _You want me to start giving up national secrets, that's what you want._

Okay, maybe she was being a little overdramatic with the last thought, but she had the right, didn't she? She took her schooling very seriously – a trait she knew she'd picked up from Rory since she'd begun school and also one she'd developed as an escape from her cancer – and she wasn't impressed with being pulled out of classes to talk to a couple of reporters that were going to spin whatever she said.

Regardless, she stayed silent.

Grenier exchanged a look with Barkley. "Sophie, can I call you Sophie?"

Sophie shrugged.

"This will be easy and relatively painless. We understand Logan Huntzberger came to pick you up from school at the end of last year."

Sophie gave herself a mental pat on the back. But she wasn't going to play the spy. She loved Rory and she loved Logan.

"_Just give them enough to satisfy without giving details. Silence is your strongest weapon._"

"I was sick with the flu." Neither confirming, nor denying.

"And how do you know Mr Huntzberger?" Grenier asked, trying to put a calm curiosity in his facial expressions.

Sophie resisted the urge to roll her eyes, but only just. She could see the hungry spark and she hated it. "I know his sister," she said carefully.

"And Miss Hayden?"

_Oh good Lord,_ Sophie screamed in her head. "She adopted me when my biological parents died."

Grenier considered her for a minute. "You look like her, you know."

Sophie wished she could mumble under her breath, wished she could just hit the smarmy reporter in front of her. Sometimes it drove her nuts that these were the types of people that Logan had working for him. Then again, Logan's employees worked to report the news, not the latest gossip. Well, not as much.

"My parents died when I was five, Mr Grenier," Sophie said, sitting up straighter. "My biological parents."

"And then Miss Hayden adopted you."

Since it was a statement, Sophie didn't have to answer.

"And since her engagement to Mr Huntzberger, he has since adopted you too, has he not?"

"Yes."

"And how old are you, Sophie?"

"Ten." She didn't like the smile that flitted at the corner of Grenier's mouth.

"Thank you, Sophie. You can head back to class."

She made a beeline for her bag once the door closed behind her, digging out the cell phone Rory and Logan had given to her in case of emergencies. Her fingers were shaking when she pulled it out. She loved Rory, but she hadn't liked the insinuation that they looked alike. Hadn't liked it at all. She found the phone book's five pre-programmed numbers and selected the last one. Frank wouldn't ask questions.

"Frank? It's Sophie. Can you come and get me at school please."

* * *

Finance meetings were boring. Logan was sure he'd almost fallen asleep twice and definitely had zoned out through the large majority of the meeting. He was thankful he was the boss and wasn't responsible for the minutes. He blinked, trying to place what had broken him out of a really nice day dream of him and Rory relaxing on a Mexican beach when the guy making the presentation called 'enter'. 

"I'm sorry, gentlemen," Sheila said gracefully, her eyes searching the room until they landed on Logan. "You have an emergency visitor, Mr Huntzberger."

Logan stood quickly, putting everything in a pile. "How about we continue this tomorrow? Say… eleven?" He stayed long enough to see all of the men nod their heads before walking quickly but calmly towards his office. He figured it wouldn't be Honour and if it was Colin or Finn he'd have to thank them profusely for getting him out of such a boring meeting. But something in his gut told him it wasn't any of his friends and it definitely wasn't his sister.

Sophie stood at the window of his office, her hands clutching the window sill and Logan took a minute to assess his daughter. There was tension in her shoulders and she was here not two hours into the school day. Emergency was definitely the right word to use.

"Half-Pint?" His gut twisted when he saw the fear in her eyes. "What's wrong?"

Sophie took a deep breath. "They called me to the principal's office this morning," she started slowly.

Logan raised an eyebrow. "You? Why? Did you get an eighty on an assignment instead of a ninety?"

That got a small smile out of her. "I didn't get it either until I was already in there."

Logan moved to stand beside her, placing his papers and files on his desk as he passed. "Lion's den?"

"Two men from _The National Enquirer_."

Logan raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "I beg your pardon?"

"I wouldn't lie about something like this. Jason Grenier and… um… Stevens… Jerry Stevens."

Sophie had no reason to lie and Logan felt the anger and frustration slowly building within him. He'd known there was something off with the principal's personal oversight when he'd taken Sophie home in June. "What happened, sweetheart?"

"I was… I was…" Sophie huffed out a breath. "What's that word you and Rory use when you go to your parents?"

"Shanghaied?" Logan asked, trying to hide the small smile creeping up on him.

"Exactly! By a reporter and a photographer from _The National Enquirer_! They ambushed me! My own principal used me for his own gain! He's supposed to keep the students safe, not have them put on the spot in front of reporters for their families!"

Logan was again struck with the number of habits Sophie had picked up from Rory. And she was adorable. "Hey, hey, hey, take a breath there Deep Throat."

Sophie glared. "I'm no one's stupid Deep Throat, okay? I didn't want to talk to them, I didn't want to deal with them, I wanted to be in class."

"We told you this was likely to happen," Logan said calmly, pulling Sophie into a hug. He could be mad later. Maybe he'd even call and give a piece of his mind to that principal. And he'd talk to Rory about putting Sophie in private school, preferably one that kept riffraff like that out of their hallowed halls.

"It doesn't mean I have to like it," Sophie pouted stepping back just a bit.

"This is true. But whatever story they come up with we deal with then, okay? Nothing can be changed now and I'm not sure it's really worth calling and ranting to the tabloids until we know exactly what spin they're putting on the whole article."

Sophie took a deep breath. "You're taking this well."

Logan shrugged. "It's not going to be the first time I've been in the tabloids, nor, I'd imagine, is it going to be the last. Unfortunately for you that means a lot more pressure."

"I want it to stop," Sophie said. "I hated being in that room."

"I'm sure you did, Half-Pint," Logan said, hugging her tightly again. "Now what do you say to some ice cream?"

Sophie considered this for a moment. "_Barnes & Noble_ and you've got yourself a deal."

Logan grinned and shook his head. "I should have known. You have something specific in mind?"

"Rory couldn't find her copy of _Kite Runner_ the other day and I've been wanting to read it forever…"

* * *

Rory was surprised to come home to Logan and Sophie in front of the television at three. Sophie wasn't even due out of school for another half an hour. She stepped into the den, watching what they were, surprised that it _All the President's Men_. Logan's interest didn't surprise her for the sole reason that it was journalistic brilliance, but Sophie was another story. 

"Did you guys have another political argument?" Rory asked.

Neither of them answered.

Suddenly, Sophie sat up straight. "Ha! I told you! He released national secrets and I barely told the dumbasses that I have any connection to the two of you!"

Rory gasped at her ten year old daughter's language. "Sophie Tessa Lynn…"

"Sorry, Mo-Rory," Sophie apologized, turning wide eyes to blue ones.

Rory jolted. What was Sophie going to call her? "Where on earth did you learn that language," Rory finally settled on.

Sophie shrugged.

"And what are you watching?"

By this point, Logan had paused the movie. "I have a feeling that was a rhetorical question."

"Okay," Rory conceded rolling her eyes. "Why are you watching _All the President's Men_? Did you have another political argument?"

"Not this time," Sophie answered, exchanging a glance with Logan.

When Sophie didn't continue, Logan picked up the story. "_The National Enquirer_ tried to turn our Sophie into their own inside source."

Rory raised an eyebrow. "They did what?"

Sophie huffed as she plopped properly on the couch again. "Mr Berkley called me down to his office today."

"The principal?" Rory inquired, moving around the couch to sit with her family.

"Yeah, the principal." She looked at Rory's face. "I know, weird, right?"

"Very weird," Rory agreed. "What did he want?"

"Well, that's where the whole _National Enquirer_ thing comes in. There was a reporter and photographer in there."

"Huh. And why was that?"

"Well, you know when Da-Logan picked me up at the end of last year? I was sick with the flu?"

Rory shivered. Oh, she remembered that. "Uh huh."

Sophie turned to Logan for the next part. The latter shrugged at his fiancée. "I figure the principal called someone. Soph says the secretary was in on it too." Then he took a breath. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you both about putting you, Soph, in private school."

Rory raised an eyebrow. "Is that really necessary?"

Logan shrugged. "Private schools are pickier about who they let onto school grounds and if she goes to private school she'll be the daughter of another set of rich parents, you know? Reporters are less likely to get at her because she's one of the many in some respects."

Remarkably, Sophie understood.

Rory, on the other hand, was a little apprehensive. Her Chilton days had not been her favourite and she'd been a Hayden, a known last name. Sophie would have to tell people who her parents were. "Logan, I don't know…"

Sophie recognized the conversation about to occur and stood. "We'll finish the movie some other time. I should call someone to get the work I missed today…"

Once Sophie was safely up the stairs and he'd heard the door closed, Logan turned back to Rory. "Ace, we knew this was going to happen but you didn't see her when she came into my office today."

Rory was confused. "When did she come to your office?"

"Around eleven?" Logan responded with a shrug. "She hates talking to reporters. At a private school not only will people ignore who she is but they're a lot stricter about who they allow on school property and the principals aren't going to go to the tabloids about one simple student. I'd feel a lot better if she was somewhere where she could just be a kid, just go to school without having to worry about the press or about us."

"Don't you think that's a little bit drastic though?"

Logan shook his head with a smile. "You know what she told me today?"

Rory shook her head.

"The thing she was worried about the most during the interview wasn't the interview itself but the fall out from the article. Remember what happened the last time someone published an article without us knowing? Amber and the gala?"

Rory blinked. "That's what Sophie was worried about? What on earth could she tell them that would result in us fighting like that?"

Logan laughed. "Ace, I don't claim to understand what goes on in Sophie's head. First of all, she's a woman. I'm genetically predisposed to not understand her. Then she's a kid and as much as I love her and I'm pretty sure she loves me, she's still an intensely private kid."

"I'm still not sure, Logan," Rory said, looking away.

"Hey," he said, cupping her chin. "It's not boarding school. She'll be home every night like she always is so you'll still see her. And she's a great kid."

Rory smiled slightly. "Um… I'll think about it, okay?"

"Okay," Logan nodded. "Though the faster we can get her in the better it'll probably be."

"No pressure," Rory said with a small chuckle.

Logan kissed her forehead. "So, want to finish the movie with me?"

Rory sighed and rolled her eyes but snuggled into his side as he pressed play.

* * *

**Mid-September 2011**

She'd finally given in.

There had been message upon message left at home and on her cell pertaining to when she was available to meet a wedding planner. Rory had ignored them all trying to figure out the best way to avoid planning her wedding along with the devil's daughter. However, after a threat from Francine to call Emily and plan the wedding themselves, Rory had bitten the bullet and arranged a meeting.

"Are you sure you want to tackle this on your own, Ace?" Logan asked as they drove from New York to Hartford. The club had been neutral ground that allowed Logan to be close by – on the golf course, but it wouldn't take him long to reach her should the need arise.

"Yes, I'm sure," Rory repeated for the hundredth time.

Logan sighed in defeat. Rory was stubborn. "Dad and your grandfather know I'm only playing nine holes so I should be no more than three hours. My cell is on vibrate if you need a rescue."

Rory rolled her eyes. "I may dislike the fact that your mother hates me but I can play polite society with the best of 'em. My grandmothers are queens of it in their own rights."

"And my mother is the queen of subtle barbs." He did give her credit for the grandmother's thing though.

"She won't make a scene, Logan. Why do you think I chose a public place with enough of Hartford to discourage an outburst?"

Logan blinked, his eyes still on the road. He was impressed. "You've really thought this out."

Rory smiled. "Oh yeah. And here's the creepy part: I'd rather deal with the DAR congratulations and snobbery, not to mention the dirty looks from the women who _couldn't_ keep you than even consider doing this behind closed doors."

"Sometimes, Ace," Logan began, shaking his head in impressed disbelief. "Your understanding of elite society baffles me for a woman that wasn't immersed in it from birth."

"It's that separation that gives me perspective," she shot back. Then she rested her hand on his over the stick shift. "Now stop fussing. I'll be fine."

Her reassurance came just as Logan pulled into the club's parking lot and stopped in a spot. As a result, any argument would be useless at this point. He held out a hand to her as she came around the car and grasped it tightly as they made their way to the front doors. The men were predictably the first group the couple crossed.

"Rory, Logan! There you are!" Mitchum greeted. "Rory, the women are already in the dining room having tea."

"Thank you, Mitchum," Rory said with a polite society smile, accepting his requisite kiss on the cheek. Rory then turned to Straub, repeating the motion. The final man caught her by surprise.

"Grandpa," she greeted. "What are you doing here?"

* * *

**_Ha ha, I know... Three days between updates and I'm leaving you with a cliff hanger. Just remember, you shoot me and you don't get the rest of the story anyway!_**

**_Now, I do have a legitimate question before signing off on this chapter. For the next six weeks, updates will be anywhere from 2 to 12 days apart. With 24 counted characters, some of which are participating in different storylines, do you want a recap of the people who are going to be in the chapters at the beginning or do you want to just go back and read it all? Basically_**

**_Option A: I continue writing as is and if you are confused about something you go back and read the other chapters _**

**_Option B: I write a little recap at the beginning of each chapter, but only about the characters and storylines that are appearing in the chapter. For example, the next time I talk about Steph and Colin's relationship, I put a recap at the beginning to remind you what's already happened in their relationship._**

**_Let me know! And tell me what you think while you're at it!_**


	8. Protective, Possessive Papa Bear

**_Okay, a few things to get out of the way:_**

**_1) Author's are review whores. There's no other way to put it. Some of us are more open to constructive criticism than others, but we're all review whores. Having said that, there's also something to be said on the patience of reviewers. Yes, Logan didn't get mad in front of Rory or Sophie, but how many of you remember that the one time he seemed angry and bitter Sophie got scared?_**

**_2) And on the same note, I don't always put the entirety of a plot line in one chapter. The article, The National Enquirer, and all involved aren't going to get off as easy as some of you seem to think. While I appreciate the two reviews (unsigned) that outlined that the principal was not only wrong ethically to allow it, but legally because it means people are reading carefully and noticing these things, I think you also have to remember that this story isn't complete yet. The characters do what they do for a reason and though I may not be a couple of chapters ahead like I should be, I do have plans. Logan may not have gotten mad at that point, but that doesn't necessarily mean he wasn't or that._**

**_3) I'm leaving on Saturday for a cottage without internet access. I love you guys and your love for this story, but I can't update without access! I'll be gone for 7 days and that's why I asked if you guys wanted recaps. When I get to the tenth chapter, I'll start off the chapter with a couple of notes on what happened._**

**_Um... I think that's it! Enjoy! I'll try and get one more chapter up before I leave, but there's not guarantees._**

* * *

Richard chuckled. "Come now, Rory. Francine called. Your grandmother brought along all of her books and business cards to plan this wedding of yours."

Rory managed to resist the urge to flinch. Just barely. That meant Emily Gilmore was present. As if Shira wasn't going to be torture enough.

Logan placed his hand on the small of Rory's back with a smile towards the others. "If it's alright, I'll meet you outside." He was thankful they didn't ask questions. He could see Rory's hands shaking. "Hey."

"My grandmother, I…"

Logan sighed, rubbing his hands up and down her arms. "Nine holes, three hours, okay?"

"Yeah," Rory responded, resting her head on his shoulder and fisting her hands in the shirt fabric above his hips.

"I will be here when you are done and I will have Aspirin," he promised, pressing a kiss just above her ear.

Rory breathed him in deep. "If I kill my grandmother or your mother I expect you to be my alibi."

"And what about all the witnesses in there?" he asked, trying to hold in his chuckle.

"Pay 'em off?" she suggested innocently, meeting his eyes.

This time, he had to laugh and laughed harder at the glare she sent him. He hugged her then, his body still shaking with his dwindling mirth. Finally, when his laughter subsided he said, "Remember, Ace, this is your wedding and you need to plan it the way you want it. I don't care if you have the groomsmen in pink tuxes from the seventies so long as it's what you want."

Rory smiled "Finn might like that a little too much," she pointed out, leaning in to kiss him. Once she had – thoroughly enough that she was sure he would leave with her if she asked – Rory breathed out a sigh. "Okay, lion's den, here I come."

Logan groaned softly but let her go. The faster she left, the faster he'd be able to get himself under control and onto the course. As a result, he'd be finished faster and with Rory much sooner. "Good luck," he managed. "I love you."

All of the reassurances he could possibly give her would never settle her nerves or calm her like those three little words could. "I love you too," she whispered, kissing him chastely one more time before heading for the dining room. The three women weren't hard to spot.

"Rory!" Emily exclaimed upon seeing her. She rose from her seat and pulled Rory into a hug.

Rory went stiffly, awkwardly wrapping her arms around the woman who blamed her for ripping away all dreams of the perfect wedding and the ultimate family reunion. Shira, Rory was thankful, simply greeted her with a nod while Francine greeted her warmly.

"I'm sorry for not calling about Emily's attendance, dear, but Richard was already golfing with the others," Francine replied. "Though I'm surprised you didn't invite her yourself."

Let the games begin.

"The meeting itself was rather last minute, Grandmother," Rory recalled calmly. "And I've been so busy lately that Logan had to call Mrs Huntzberger himself."

"But Rory, this is your wedding," Emily gasped, as if it was an affront to think of anything other than your wedding once engaged.

Rory figured that to Emily Gilmore, thinking of more than your wedding during the engagement period certainly was a sin. "I know, Grandma, but there are other people counting on me. I can't just drop the charity to plan my wedding." Rory was surprised at the calm strength in her voice and mentally patted her own back.

Even Francine sputtered. "This will be a huge event Lorelai! It cannot be planned overnight."

"I understand that, Grandmother," Rory said, just barely resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "But it's not like I'm avoiding it. I have other responsibilities." That didn't mean she hadn't already called her mother to book Sookie and The Dragonfly for the weekend.

"This needs to be an even better than anyone put on. This needs to be better than the DAR and definitely more sophisticated than that Gardner girl last spring," Emily agreed.

"Spring is so overdone," Shira agreed.

Rory choose not to comment on that. "Look, I didn't come here to fight, I came here to plan a wedding." She'd hoped that would ease all of the minds at the table. Instead, it sent them into a flurry, diving for enormous hand bags Rory hadn't noticed. Out came notebooks, planners, address books, magazines and small holders for business cards.

_Mary Poppins has nothing on these three_, Rory thought to herself withdrawing her own notebook and pen.

"Emily!"

Rory looked up at the two women approaching with a small sense of dread. DAR ladies. _But_, she reminded herself as she plastered on a smile_, these women can talk._

"Ah, Tweenie, you remember my granddaughter Rory. And Candice, hello," Emily responded.

"Oh, honey, you are more beautiful than your picture," Tweenie gushed at Rory. "Tweenie Halpurn, DAR."

Rory smiled with a polite thank you.

"And best wishes on your impending nuptials. The way Shira was talking your Logan seemed set to marry that dreadful Fallon girl. I, for one, am glad he found you first."

Rory glanced discretely at Shira who looked like she'd swallowed a lemon. "Thank you Mrs Halpurn," she said again.

"Oh please, dear, call me Tweenie."

Rory wanted to die. She'd kill Logan for not talking her out of this.

"Now, we must be going. We'll look out for our invitation!" And with a little finger wave, both women were gone.

"Presumptuous," Francine said distastefully, shaking her head at Tweenie's retreating back.

Emily sighed. "We'll have to add them to the guest list now. It will be an insult if we don't."

"But Grandma, I just met her…"

"And she'll spread it to the rest of the DAR so we'll have to add them and their significant others…" Emily continued as if Rory hadn't said a thing.

"Because we can't insult the DAR," Shira said scathingly. "We'll have to find a church that will hold all of Hartford plus Mitchum's family that lives in Europe and my relatives…"

Rory blew out an exasperated breath. This was going to be an impossibly long three hours.

* * *

Logan stepped into the dining room three hours later, just as he promised and took a moment to look at the scene before moving any closer. He rested his hands on Rory's shoulders, surprised at how tense they were beneath his grip. He was also a little shocked at Rory's blank notepad. 

Rory, for her part, would be able to tell Logan's scent anywhere and she rested her head back against his stomach, enveloping herself in the comfort that his smell always brought. Those first five minutes had been incredibly indicative of the rest of the session. A continuous stream of people came to congratulate Rory and when she wasn't expressing thanks, she was ensuring no fights broke out between the three remarkably volatile women, trying to play nice with Emily Gilmore and get a say in her own wedding.

She had to resist the urge to groan as his hands dug into her shoulders. "Hey there, stranger," she said quietly, hoping to keep him to herself for just one more minute.

"Hey, Ace," he responded, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

The movement caught Shira's eye. "Logan!" she exclaimed.

Logan didn't move to hug his mother or kiss her cheek, but he did smile tightly. "Mother, Mrs Gilmore, Mrs Hayden."

"Logan, perfect, we're going to need the number of groomsmen you're planning to have and your choice of best man," Emily said, flipping back through her own notes. "And we'll need to see a schedule or get a list of dates that will work to get your tux fitted."

"My tux still fits, Emily, but when I find the best date for the others, we'll ensure it gets organized," he promised, grabbing at the control he felt slipping away.

Rory watched in awe as Emily smiled and stepped down immediately. She made a mental note to ask him how he did that.

"Now, if you ladies are finished, I need to whisk Rory away for dinner," Logan inserted smoothly as the other men entered the room. They were let go immediately and Logan pulled Rory from her seat.

"Don't forget to call with another date for planning Rory, and pick up your mother's dress so it can be fitted for you!" Emily called at their retreating backs.

Logan opened his mouth to ask Rory what her grandmother was talking about but the glazed look in Rory's eyes told him it was probably in his best interest to wait. He smiled instead and said goodbye on behalf of both of them before virtually pulling Rory out of the room.

Rory snapped out of her haze just as they hit the front hall and yanked him down a side corridor where she was sure they were out of sight. Then, she pulled his head down to hers.

Logan stumbled back until he hit the wall, surprised, though pleasantly, by Rory's enthusiasm. It didn't take him long, however, to respond to her assault and she fought him, a trait in her he absolutely adored. He pulled her tighter to his body, cursing her choice of a dress instead of a blouse and skirt.

Eventually, Logan felt Rory pull away, panting heavily. The overwhelmed haze he'd seen in her eyes had turned instead to lust, making her eyes dark. Logan grinned. "Not that I'm really protesting, Ace, but what brought that on?"

Rory blushed as if suddenly aware of their surroundings. "I wanted to make sure it was worth it."

"What?" Logan asked, wrinkling his brow.

"I wanted to make sure that enduring planning sessions with Cruella, Maleficent and the Queen of Hearts was worth it."

Logan raised an eyebrow as he mentally placed the references. "Disney?"

Rory simply shrugged. "It's brutal, I'm telling you. I barely got my own opinion heard in between the playing mediator and accepting congratulations from everyone and their next door neighbour, and I'm being pretty literal with that one. I'm not even sure they heard my opinion when I did voice it," Rory elaborated, resting her head in the hollow of his shoulder.

Logan chuckled. "So?"

Rory grinned, pressing a kiss to the underside of his jaw. "Oh yeah," she said. "It's so worth it."

* * *

Monday morning saw Logan purposefully striding up the front path to Sacred Heart Elementary School, Sophie trying to keep up beside him. Upon hearing the principal had conned the terrified Sophie into an interview, he'd been appropriately livid – in the comfort of his office, away from colleagues, Rory and especially Sophie. Sophie had seen him angry once and it had resulted in her calling Honour instead of spending the night with him. He'd used all of his self control to stay calm for his girls. 

His lawyer sure had gotten an earful though, as had Sheila, who'd leant a sympathetic ear when he'd almost torn an intern a new one. The call to his lawyer, had resulted in the two documents tucked safely in his breast pocket: the legal papers necessary to sue the secretary and the principal. And that didn't even account for the papers he'd sent to the school board.

"Okay, Half-Pint, you're good to walk around the back?"

Sophie rolled her eyes, a perfect imitation of Rory. "I'm ten."

"Right," Logan responded, tugging playfully on the curly ponytail at the back of her head. "Now, Finn is picking you up after school."

"I know," Sophie interrupted nodding empathetically. Then she hugged him tightly. "I love you, Daddy."

By the time Logan's mind had completely absorbed and processed the fact that Sophie had indeed just called him 'Daddy', she had already scampered around the corner and out of sight. Logan shook his head with an affectionate smile before squaring his shoulders and reaching for the documents in his pocket. He had them in his hand as he pulled open the front door to the school. He could already feel that tamped down anger starting to flood his system and he welcomed it willingly. The secretary, Ms Hunt, his mind provided, looked up as Logan entered.

"Hello, sir," she greeted with a huge smile.

Logan's grin was more feral than angry or convivial. "Tell me something, Ms Hunt…"

"Emily," she interrupted.

Logan ignored her. "How good is your union lawyer?"

Her smile faltered a bit. "The union lawyer, sir?"

"Yes, Ms Hunt."

"I wouldn't know, sir."

Logan nodded thoughtfully before that evil grin returned. "I suggest you find out and fast," he said, producing the summons from beneath the counter. "Sophie's adoption was never your business and you failed to contact her mother or myself before allowing _The National Enquirer_ in."

"I assure you, sir, I didn't…"

"Think? No you didn't," Logan finished for her. "And you are just as responsible and liable as Mr Berkley, whom I will be visiting in a moment."

It was twisted, but he took some satisfaction in the fear spread all over her face. It didn't take much work to find the principal's office as he stalked out of the main one and he didn't bother to knock, let alone wait to be granted access. Instead, he stormed in, full Huntzberger temper flaring. The secretary had gotten off easy.

The kind look on Mr Berkley's face irked him even more.

"Mr Huntzberger, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit."

"I promise, this visit will only be a pleasure for me," Logan almost growled. "Tell me, Mr Berkley, when you became a principal did you ever realize part of your job was to protect your students?"

"I'm not exactly sure what you're implying, Mr Huntzberger, but I assure you our students are perfectly safe." He stopped, looked like he was pondering for a minute, then he made the dire mistake of opening his mouth. "Your precious daughter is perfectly safe."

There was no way on God's green earth Logan could have set this up better. "Really, Mr Berkley? Then maybe you want to explain to me why Sophie came to my office with the news that _The National Enquirer_ had interviewed her here in this office?"

"I assure you, she was never in harms way. I was here throughout the interview."

Good Lord, this man was stupid. Logan was at a loss as to hell the hell he'd made it to principal in the first place. "But was I? Was Rory? Did it ever occur to you that Sophie is ten years old? She's a minor."

"And Miss Hayden gave her permission."

So not only was the man incredibly stupid but throttling him wouldn't do Logan or Berkley any good. Nor would it get Logan's message across. "Right," Logan said, his voice not only conveying his disbelief but his deep rooted anger. "I'm going to let you in on a little secret, Mr Berkley. Rory was more adamant than I was about keeping Sophie out of the spotlight. Not even close to a good try."

For the first time, Berkley started to physically shake. "It was harmless."

"Harmless?_ Harmless_? A goldfish is harmless, a tulip is harmless, a rainbow is harmless. _The National Enquirer_ is about as harmless as being locked in a room with poisonous snakes and rabid dogs that haven't eaten in three days."

Ooh, brilliant picture. Logan took comfort in the fact that Berkley had suddenly developed a distinctly green tinge.

"Where do you want me to even start?" Logan continued, his voice a low menacing growl. "The ethics behind conning a ten year old into an interview without parental consent or trusted support? Or maybe the morality of a principal exploiting his students for his own gain? How much did the magazine pay for that tasty little tidbit anyway?" It was a rhetorical question.

Logan took a deep breath, willing himself to calm down just a bit. "I wanted to see you get this myself," he finally said, smacking the legal document against his free hand. "And I'll tell you the same thing I told Ms Hunt: I hope your union lawyer is excellent. Though, at this point, I'm not sure it matters. I doubt you'll be working as a principal ever again." And Logan would make sure of that.

There was almost a bounce in his step as he left the office and subsequently the school. Glancing down at his watch he sighed. He was meeting Rory for lunch in three hours to talk about law suits for the reporters at _The National Enquirer_ and private schools, but he had to blow off some steam in the meantime.

Maybe Colin was free for a drink…


	9. Harder than it Seems

**_I'm finally back from the cottage! It was nice to get back to my internet. Now, I don't have a chapter for every day I'm back (4) like I said I was going to try to do. My friend drafted me into editing a story for her that I wrote already and I figured it was just easier to re-write it. It's 71_ _pages in Word. _**

**_I'm hoping to get another chapter written before Thursday. Let me know if there's anything confusing or anything you want to see before the wedding!_**

* * *

**Late December 2011**

Rory was going to scream.

She'd known getting into something serious with Logan, knew when she accepted his marriage proposal, that society would have to be taken into consideration, but there was no way in hell she was going to cater to it. Apparently, Francine and Shira had other plans.

They'd vetoed everything about her perfect wedding in under an hour. She would be wearing her mother's wedding gown, getting married in Hartford and having her reception at the country club, just like every other good society daughter would do. But Rory Hayden was not a society daughter.

"Now, Rory, dear, the bridal party and the groomsmen," Francine said, moving on to what was obviously next on her checklist. "Honour is your maid of honour, yes?"

"No, Grandmother, Mom will be standing as my maid of honour," Rory corrected sharply. Her nerves were shot, she was tired and punchy and good Lord did she need a hug.

"Honour it is," Shira said, scribbling it down on the pad in front of her. "And Logan's cousin has a little girl that would be perfect for the flower girl."

All three women heard a gasp and Rory spun quickly when she heard the small sob. She'd left Sophie in the library with Elias, but she'd know the back of her daughter's curls anywhere. That was the last straw. "Enough."

When she turned back to face Shira and Francine, her face was a mask of absolute fury. "My mother will be my maid of honour. Sophie will be my flower girl. I will be having my reception at the Dragonfly and Sookie will be doing all of the cooking. We're getting married in May, not July and I'm carrying lilies, not roses, I hate roses. This is not one of your society events. This is my wedding. And you can either plan it with me, not for me like you have been, or you can get out of the way. Now if you'll excuse me, my daughter is in hysterics."

And Rory left.

Her blood sang in victory as she made her way through the winding dark halls of the Huntzberger manor, weaving and twisting towards the library. Sophie was as predictable as she was, her only real solace in the books she loved and it had felt damn good to finally tell the wedding dictators that she'd had enough.

Rory's heart broke as she heard the gut-wrenching sobs through the heavy wooden door. Pushing it open as silently as she could she found Sophie curled into the foetal position in one of the chairs by the roaring fire. Elias was nowhere to be found.

Rory moved swiftly, kneeling in front of Sophie's chair for a split second before pulling the small body into her arms, rocking her back and forth against her chest. Shira was going to pay for this and she'd make things right with Sophie.

"She's lying, Sophie," Rory whispered tearfully into the brown curls. "You're going to be my flower girl. My little girl. No one else."

Rory continued to whisper to Sophie until her sobs quieted and Rory found she'd fallen asleep. Then she leaned back against the chair and stared into the fireplace, watching the flames dance until the stress and adrenaline of the day caught up to her and she too fell asleep.

* * *

Logan rushed through the front door of his childhood house of horrors, searching left and right for any sign of Rory or Sophie. His grandfather had called half way through a meeting and Logan had rushed through the end in order to head to Hartford. 

Rory had a planning session with his mother and her grandmother today and though Logan had been apprehensive to let her go by herself, she'd promised that everything would be fine. She'd proved his gut right when Elias had been on the phone, telling him he'd found both Rory and Sophie sleeping in the library.

The library was their sanctuary.

"Logan! I didn't know you were coming by," Shira greeted with a wide smile.

Logan almost growled. "What the hell did you do?" he roared. "What did you say to her?"

Shira blinked for an instant, her face a mask of innocence. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Logan rolled his eyes. "Of course you don't. Why would you ever think of someone other than yourself. Rory and Sophie aren't even on your radar. I swear to God, if you have inflicted anymore irreparable damage on that little girl, you can kiss your wedding invitation good bye."

He'd had enough.

Shira gasped. "Logan, that is not proper."

"I don't care what's proper anymore, Mother. I don't care what your little DAR friends think, I don't care what society thinks. I care about Rory and Sophie and I care about Rory planning her perfect fairy tale wedding. And mark my words, I will get the story from her."

"And what makes you think she'll tell you the truth."

Logan straightened at the automatic defensive question. "That. Right there. I'll tell you a secret, Mother. She tried. She tried to make nice with you. She agreed to allow you some say in this wedding. She agreed to let you help plan the damn thing. She tried. And you know what? You threw it all back in her face. You don't have to like her, we're both fine with that, but you damn well better respect her."

He didn't give his mother a chance to say another word. Instead, he stalked off down the hall, heading straight for the library and leaving his stunned mother in the foyer. Elias, who had watched the whole thing, stepped out from the parlour.

"Excellent dramatics, Shira."

Her eyes shot fire at her father-in-law. "Oh shut it. You know he's making a mistake."

Elias had always hated Shira. He had married for love and he'd wanted Mitchum to marry for love. Unfortunately, his son had settled for second best and had never chased Abigail. That left him with this shell of a woman with little education or drive to succeed.

"I know he's doing something Mitchum didn't have the balls to do," he contradicted.

Shira's eyes widened. She'd always assumed Elias' love of Rory stemmed from their friendship before her relationship with Logan.

Elias captured Shira's eyes from across the large marble room, holding them stiffly and relentlessly. "He's fighting."

-------------------------------------------------

Logan quietly opened the library door wide enough for him to slip through. The last thing he wanted was to wake either of them and though Rory slept like the dead, Sophie wasn't so lucky. He breathed out an unconscious sigh of relief when he noticed both of them curled up on the fluffy rug in front of the fire.

Actually, he reflected, they made an adorable picture. Sophie was curled into Rory, her hand bunched on the sleeve of Rory's blouse like she was three instead of ten. That same sleeve housed the arm Sophie was using as a pillow and Rory's other arm was wrapped completely around the small body, keeping her close, protecting her.

He sat down at Rory's head, putting his side to the blazing fire and gently lifting her head into his lap. He stroked her hair, well aware that the shift in Rory's body would most likely wake her smaller counterpart. Sure enough, Sophie's eyes blinked open a second later and he smiled down at her.

"Hey Half-Pint," he whispered, maintaining the silence of the library.

She just continued to look up at him, eyes still glazed.

"It's Logan, Soph."

She blinked for a few seconds and the fog of sleep cleared from her eyes. "Hi."

"Hey." He shivered at the tear tracks he could see running down Sophie's face from the dried liquid. "You want to tell me what happened?"

Wordlessly Sophie crawled around Rory until she could curl into his side. "No."

Logan nodded, leaning down to press a kiss to her head. "I'm sorry, Sophie. So, so sorry."

Sophie's eyes were more innocent than her ten years, red-rimmed and puffy from her tears. "Why?"

Logan blinked. "Because you had to go through this," he began slowly. "You have to deal with my mother and everything they're putting you through. You're so much better than this, Half-Pint."

"But it's not your fault," Sophie said softly.

Logan was completely floored. Here was a girl that had essentially been torn apart at the seams by people who were about to become her family and she didn't blame him one little bit. It wasn't the first time he'd thought of Sophie as extraordinary. "Come on. We'll wake your mom up and go home, okay? Get out of this place."

Sophie nodded eagerly. "Mom, wake up."

While Sophie had called him 'Daddy' that one day at school, the actual use of the endearment had been erratic since and Logan knew Sophie had yet to really call Rory 'Mom'. He couldn't help the smile or the feeling that welled up in his chest at Sophie's words.

"Mommy, come on. We're going home."

Rory finally stirred. "Sophie?"

"And Logan. I need to get out of here."

Rory stood slowly, using Logan for support as she gained her footing before turning to him and throwing her arms around his neck. "It was horrible."

Logan simply sighed, no 'I told you so', just holding her with one arm, while the other rested across Sophie's small shoulders. "You can tell me on the way home. Let's go."

* * *

**Christmas Time 2011**

Christmas, and as a result Logan and Rory's two year anniversary, came faster than anyone had really anticipated. Rory and logan breathed deep and joined hands as they made their way up to the front door of the Huntzberger manor for the annual Christmas party. After doing the rounds and nabbing a couple of champagne flutes, they went their separate ways, Logan to Colin and Finn and Rory to her parents and Honour.

"Lorelai, my dear!" Francine greeted, happily throwing her arms around her oldest granddaughter. "Marsha Cockleburn was asking about the wedding and I couldn't give her any answers."

Rory resisted the urge to groan. Since blowing up at Shira and Francine at the beginning of the month, she'd fixed the problem by basically keeping them both out of the loop. "Things are coming together," Rory promised vaguely, linking arms with her mother. "Mom's been a huge help with planning the reception and Honour's been helping out with the ceremony."

Francine appealed to Christopher. "You don't mind if I steal them, do you? Your father and Richard should be around somewhere."

Rory and Lorelai turned pleading gazes on Christopher, but he ignored them in favour of the fear his mother could still invoke in him. "Sure, Mother. I need a refill anyway," he replied, shaking his empty glass as an example.

Rory was half way across the vast Huntzberger sitting room, one wrist firmly in Francine's grip, when she spotted Logan at the bar. It wasn't that he was at the bar that bothered her – she too understood the necessity of alcohol consumption in society – but his companions. Finn and Colin were lost in the crowd and Logan was surrounded by a giggling, clinging gaggle of girls. "Grandmother, excuse me. I'm just going to go grab Logan."

Francine's grin was wide and she let Rory go with specific and strict instructions to find them later. Rory started to thread her way through the crowd towards her fiancée. She was stopped about half way by a gentle hand on her arm.

"Are you Lorelai Hayden?"

His hair was brown, eyes a striking green with a strong jaw and broad shoulders. If Rory hadn't been already engaged and head-over-heels in love with Logan, she'd probably be blushing and stuttering like a little school girl. However, she didn't stutter when she answered the affirmative.

"Braden Miller," he introduced himself, holding out a hand. "Honour pointed you out."

Rory was still confused. She had no idea who this man was, even if the name sounded familiar. "It's a pleasure to meet you," she said with a polite smile.

"I wanted to thank you," he continued earnestly. "For Catherine's Foundation."

That made Rory even more confused. "Did you have a relative with the foundation?"

Braden chuckled. "Catherine was my sister."

"Oh!" Rory exclaimed, her face heating up in a blush. "You're _that_ Braden. I'm sorry, Logan has told me about you."

Braden didn't know where to start with his questions. He picked an easy one. "You know Logan?"

Rory felt herself blush redder than she already was. She lifted her left hand, the diamond sparkling in the light. "Engaged to him, actually."

His low whistle made her chuckle. "I thought Logan became a little bit of a Casanova once Catie passed."

Rory glanced over a the bar where Logan was still cornered and smiled. "He was," she admitted. "I was just about to go save him, actually, if you'd like to tag along."

"Lead on," Braden decided, following Rory's glance. He wanted to see how this played out. The fact that she was going to pull him away from all of those women in the first place was a story in itself and told Braden that surprisingly the engagement was a mutual decision and not a forced agreement by both families.

Rory started weaving her way to Logan again, almost shoving her way through the circle of women around him. She moved to his right, dislodging the bimbo hanging onto his arm and rested her left hand on his chest. Her body was pressed tightly to his side.

"Hey," she greeted, pressing a kiss to his cheek. It was an extremely simple greeting for such a blatant display of possessiveness.

Logan glanced down at her, wrapping his arm tightly around her slim body and dropping an absent kiss on her forehead. "Hey Ace."

She almost frowned at his distracted tone, but upon following his gaze to settle on Braden she understood. "He introduced himself."

Logan swallowed. "This is the first time I've seen him since Catie," he replied softly.

Rory was struck with the significance of the moment and almost offered to go find Honour or willingly subject herself to her grandmother's wedding talk to give the two men a chance to talk. However, it was as if he read her intentions as his arm tightened around her. So, she stayed.

The women, a mere annoyance from the beginning, were interestingly and completely silent. Rory was sure it had little to her with her presence or the diamond on her finger. The next thing she registered was Logan moving, pulling her along by her hand.

Logan eyed the other man for a moment as if sizing him up before yanking Braden into a bone crushing embrace. "It's good to see you alive and well."

Braden smiled as both men stepped back, watching as Logan reached for Rory's hand again. "Europe was a good choice."

Logan just nodded before pulling Rory forward and against his side again. "You've met Rory, I hear."

Braden knit his brows. He'd only known her as Lorelai, Honour's partner. "Rory?"

Logan grinned. He knew it was one of Rory's favourite stories to tell, even if it only took a few short sentences.

"My mom's name is Lorelai too. Rory's my nickname so we don't get confused," Rory began to explain.

"Ah, female empowerment. Nice touch."

Rory grinned at Braden's response and whacked Logan's arm. "See? He gets it and he hasn't even met Mom."

Braden watched Logan shoot back a witty retort that made Rory blush and felt his lips twitch. He'd always known Logan would find someone after Catherine and it wouldn't be like settling for second best. Lorelai, or Rory apparently, was Catherine. Not in looks, for sure, but Braden could see Rory's quiet confidence and her determined spirit. Both were qualities Catherine had been known for that got her through the very worst of times, qualities Braden admired above all else in his sister.

The fact that Rory seemed to be able to quickly and efficiently put Logan in his place didn't hurt either.

"So what happened to the Casanova everyone talked about," Braden interrupted the two of them.

His mild question made the couple jump but it was Logan that answered in that overdramatic way that never ceased to convey his extreme comfort with the people around him. "Even Casanova fell in love."

Braden snorted as Rory hit him again. "That was disgustingly corny. I'm pretty sure I just threw up a bit in my mouth," he said.

Logan smiled good-naturedly. "So what brings you back to the States?"

"I figured it was high time I get back here for some closure. You know… for Catie," Braden said with a shrug. "I figured Honour was a good place to start."

Logan nodded in understanding. "And you_ chose_ to attend a party to do it?" he asked.

Braden shrugged again. "I left right after Catie's funeral, if you remember, and I didn't look back."

"You didn't know Honour had started a foundation in Catie's name," Logan realized.

Rory looked from one man to the other. "You should come to HQ if you're staying for a bit," she offered. "We'll give you an overview of what we're doing on behalf of your sister and your family… well, and Logan and Honour, I guess."

Braden was a little shocked at her knowledge. "You know about Catie? About Honour and Logan and Catie?" He'd assumed Honour would mention Catherine in passing so Rory had an understanding of what kind of charity she was getting herself into, but he'd never imagined that another woman would speak so passionately of his sister.

Rory blushed. "From Honour." Then she appealed to the blond at her side. "And Logan."

The latter admission surprised Braden much more than the former. Logan had always been an intensely private person except around a select few. Catherine had been one of those few and, apparently, so was Rory. "Wow."

Rory's blush intensified and she cursed the reflex for the millionth time. "She sounds like she was an absolutely fantastic person. Your sister, I mean," she said softly.

Braden was once again struck with a Catherine moment. "Honour directed me to Rory," Braden pressed on, ignoring the tightening of his chest that still manifested itself when he thought of his sister. "I just wanted to meet you," he said to Rory. "I wanted a chance to say thanks for giving Catie her legacy."

Logan's eyes lit up with pride as he pressed an affectionate kiss to his fiancée's temple. "It really is something, Braden. I think Catie would be proud… and touched. Ace may not have had any actual connection to Catie, but she puts her heart and soul into the charity."

It was the highest praise Rory felt she could receive. "You'll have to come visit now. Logan's a little biased towards the charity because of Honour and I."

Braden smiled at the embarrassed Gilmore Girl. "I trust Logan's judgement, but I'd love to get an inside view."

Rory grinned in satisfaction as her mind drifted off. She'd always gotten fulfillment and satisfaction from the work she did but she had always firmly believed that Logan's praise was pretty biased, as was the praise that came from the families that used the charity for their children. Braden, she felt, had so much more invested in the significance of the charity and enough of a neutral opinion to objectively evaluate what she and Honour were doing.

And that would be the ultimate satisfaction.

* * *

**January 2011**

Rory breathed in deep as she linked arms with Steph and Honour, Lorelai walking purposefully ahead of them. Lorelai had shopped in New York for her wedding dress and swore to Rory she knew exactly where to find the best dresses. But, apparently, Rory was pickier than her counterpart because every store they'd gone in, Rory had turned down dress after dress.

"Hey, Steph, have you talked to Colin lately?" Rory asked, needing a change of subject. They'd been chatting for the last hour about Shira and Francine and planning the wedding. More specifically, the fall out of Rory's last explosion.

The laughter stopped dead, Steph turning a formidable glare on her brunette. "No."

"Coward," Honour snorted, reaching out to pull Lorelai into their line.

"Who's a coward?" Lorelai inquired, half paying attention. "Certainly not my daughter who told off the spawn of Satan and the wedding Nazi."

Rory rolled her eyes. "We've had this conversation, Mom. Logan is Satan's spawn to Shira's Lucifer. But we're not talking about me anyway. Steph's the coward."

Lorelai raised an eyebrow as she looked across all three women to the blond in question. "Steph's a coward?"

"Colin kissed her at the carnival and she hasn't talked to him since," Honour supplied, relaying the story Rory had told her.

Lorelai's other eyebrow rose to join the first. "The boy you've been crushing on for ages kissed you months ago and you haven't talked to him since?"

Steph glared at Rory again. "Does anyone not know?"

"That you're in love with Colin?" Rory clarified, leading the way up the steps to another small bridal shop. She shrugged. "Sophie? But Logan might have told her."

Steph groaned. "I have no idea what to say to him," she whined as the girls split up in the tiny shop.

"Um, you could start with 'I love you'," Honour pointed out in a 'duh' tone, sticking her tongue out when Steph turned her glare on the other blond.

"This coming from the woman who's been flirting with a colleague? And it's not that easy," Steph complained. She rounded on Rory. "Tell her it's not that easy."

Rory shrugged. "I'd rather hear about the flirting she's doing with Josh and about the non-date they had last week." She glanced up at Honour's shocked face and grinned smugly. "Larissa was talking about it last week." Then she turned away, back to the dresses and directing her next words at Steph. "Everyone knows Colin's been in love with you forever. I think Logan even has the evidence of a drunken confession and you know alcohol always loosens Colin's tongue."

"It's not that easy," Lorelai said, jumping to Steph's defence and surprising both Honour and Rory. Lorelai and Christopher hadn't had an easy relationship, that much was well-known, but they were happily married now. Rory had always figured her parents constantly exchanged the affection after her father proposed the first time.

"Thank you!" Steph exclaimed, throwing up her hands in relief.

"For two people that have apparently been in love forever?" Honour asked, wrinkling her nose as she flitted through another rack of dresses. "Does no one carry a half decent wedding dress these days? I told you it should have been custom-made."

"I'm not even sure what I want," Rory responded easily. "And how would you know, Mom? You married your high school sweetheart and lived happily ever after."

"Eventually," Lorelai pointed out, pulling out a dress before shaking her head and hanging it up again. "But as much as Chris and I loved each other we still had our obstacles."

Rory rolled her eyes. "There's no way Steph and Colin's parents are going to stand in the way of a relationship between them, Steph's not pregnant and they're both well over the age of consent. I'm missing where the problems are. Come on, let's try another store."

They walked in indicative pairs this time, Rory and Honour two steps ahead of Lorelai and Steph.

"It wasn't easy for you," Lorelai pointed out to her daughter.

Rory shrugged as she turned her head back to focus on her mother, leaving Honour to navigate and make sure Rory didn't run into anyone or anything. "The pay out was a million times more rewarding than the minute and a half of fear."

"And Rory was in denial that Logan was in love with her to begin with, not to mention their first kiss was after sharing heartbreaking stories," Honour pointed out logically.

"My first kiss with Colin happened because Rory goaded him into it," Steph said with a pout.

Rory laughed. "Only because he'd never get the guts to do it himself."

"So I'm in love with a coward," Steph said with a roll of her eyes.

Honour grinned. "Takes one to know one."

"Apparently," Steph said, eyeing Honour meaningfully. "What about you and Josh? And that wasn't my point."

"But it is ours," Rory responded, ignoring the crack about Honour's odd friendship-slash-relationship with the camp coordinator she was still working with to give the summer camp a more official feel.

Steph rolled her eyes stepping into a shop for some regular shopping. "I _so_ need a break," she explained.

"From Colin?" Honour asked, throwing herself into the racks. She was thankful for Rory constantly saving her from having to ponder whatever she and Josh were playing at.

"And your inquisition," she replied. "Why is all the focus on me?"

"Because a scandal is so much more fun than society witches," Lorelai said decisively, referring to their previous wedding talk. "And I really need a break from white."

"This would be easier if a dress would just jump out at me," Rory said, taking her mother's comment as a crack at her uncharacteristic indecisiveness.

"I know," Lorelai exclaimed, excitement filling her face. "You could be really rebellious and where blue!"

Rory eyed the sky blue ball gown Lorelai had pulled off the rack. "Logan does love me in blue…"

"Perfect!" Lorelai exclaimed, though she replaced the dress. There was no way Rory would be that rebellious and Lorelai knew her daughter wanted to keep to the tradition of white.

"I'll make you a deal, Steph," Rory spoke up, finding a cute sweater and throwing it over her amr. "If you don't talk to Colin before the engagement party next month, Honour and I will lock you and Colin in a closet until you sort things out.

Honour's grin was dirty. "And clothing's optional."

-------------------------------------------------------

It took them another hour before Rory found a dress that jumped out at her. They'd avoided the big shops because Lorelai swore they were over commercialized, but Honour had managed to convince all of them to try just one. Rory wasn't one for huge decorations of lace or beading and after wading through what felt like thousands of dresses, it was surprisingly Steph that found the dress Rory loved.

The satin skirt was embroidered with small beaded flowers that shimmered along with the skirt when it caught the light. The bodice hugged her body from hips to underarms in the same satin as the skirt. Rory had been prepared to share a laugh with her mother and friends at how it wasn't like her – Steph's choices rarely were – but putting it on, she was pleasantly and totally surprised.

Honour and Lorelai gushed immediately over how gorgeous the dress looked and how the white offset Rory's dark chestnut locks. Steph eyed her friend critically as she looked over the straight neckline and the two strings that served as straps over her shoulders.

"That can't be the dress I picked." But she was grinning from ear to ear. "It took us long enough to find this thing."

Rory was smiling too. It would fit with everything she'd already chosen. It was elegantly simple and the flowers on the skirt would compliment the adorable slipper-like flats she'd picked instead of the usual heels. There was something she loved about being short enough to comfortably rest her head on her husband's shoulder while dancing. Rory shivered pleasantly at the idea of being able to call Logan her husband officially, rather than just in her head.

Lorelai glanced down at her watch as they waited for a salesperson to wrap and box the dress. "Dinner ladies?"


	10. Life Goes On

**_I'm so sorry! I just got back from 3 weeks of trips and stuff so this was the first time I was able to post in 3 weeks! I love you all for being patient and stuff. You're all brilliant._**

**_Recap:_**

_1) a. Honour hired Josh Cole to help coordinate a summer camp for the children in hospital  
b. Rory revealed to Honour that she knew there was something other than friendship there_

_2) a. Logan and Rory discussed enrolling Sophie in private school  
b. Logan took all sorts of legal documents to Sacred Heart because of the National Enquirer incident._

_3) a. Colin kissed Steph at the Foundation carnival, then left without saying a word to Steph.  
b. Steph talked to Rory and Honour about the whole thing and admitted she hadn't talked to Colin since_

* * *

Honour rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands, the numbers and words still blurry before her eyes. Between helping Rory plan her wedding and working on this camp, her days were filled with work. Caterers, sponsors, reception halls and camp facilitators… she needed a break. Ironically enough, Josh wasn't helping, not that he hadn't tried. 

She'd allowed him to take over the planning for the large majority of the camp, thinking it would be the greatest help. Usually, she'd be all for it, and she'd take the help willingly. Unfortunately, he also haunted her dreams. It was those dreams that stressed her out more than the work she was doing. Seeing Rory marry her brother would be the highest of happiness for her. Seeing this camp up and running would give her a supreme sense of satisfaction.

Her dreams of Josh weren't dreams of simple friendship, like she'd imagined from the beginning. Honour's friends had been stars in her dreams many times since she could remember, it wasn't anything new. But the dreams of Josh were dreams of moonlight dinners and sunset kisses, dreams that evoked happiness and love.

Honour wasn't some little child. She knew that Josh wasn't as imperfect as she wanted to believe. She also knew that, like Rory, her parents would flip. He was as far from her status as rich he could possibly be while still being part of the middle class. He worked for his living, and not as a CEO as per the regular definition. In fact, he worked _for_ her.

"Hon?"

Honour snapped her head up, looking at Josh's concerned face. "Sorry, got lost there."

Josh sighed. "You're exhausted. Have been for days. What's going on?"

"Nothing," Honour promised, leaning her head back against her chair. "It's nothing."

"It's obviously something," Josh replied, with that uncanny ability to read her he'd displayed so often. "You've been distracted."

"I'm always distracted," she pointed out, not willing to give Josh an inch.

"Is it Rory's wedding?"

"I can't give up Rory's wedding," Honour replied snappishly.

Josh held up his hands. "I'm not asking you to give up Rory's wedding."

Honour sighed. "I'm sorry."

Josh moved behind her so fast that there was no way Honour could have found a polite way to stop him. He placed his hands on her shoulders, kneading in all the spots he knew she liked. This wasn't the first time he'd felt it necessary to rub some of the tension out of her shoulders. Honour had the bad habit of not only leaning over her computer to type, but also in general. Her shoulders were stiff.

"I can take over all of the camp, if you want," he suggested.

Honour moaned as his thumb dug into a particularly sore spot. "I couldn't ask you to do that."

"You wouldn't be asking," he pointed out.

Honour sighed. "Josh, you've been awesome."

He chuckled. "You didn't have to tell me that."

She smiled. "You've been awesome."

He laughed again, lowly. "Thank you."

They fell into a comfortable silence as Honour continued to simply allow his hands to relax the knots in her back.

"It's been everything," she finally said. Honour knew it was a very helpful tactic, silence. She'd used it a number of times on Logan.

"Everything?"

"I'm working all day, every day. After that I try and sleep. Try, Josh. But I can't. Not properly, not like I should with all of the work I'm doing."

Josh sighed. He knew she wasn't getting sleep. Much to his surprise and annoyance – and probably even more to a beautiful woman like her – it was obvious even with the makeup she piled on. There were still purple circles under her eyes. Light, but they were there. It drove him nuts. "Why not?"

Honour groaned. It wasn't a groan of pleasure, either. Instead, it was one of annoyance, probably more at herself. The two of them had bonded over the course of their partnership, and even that was an understatement. They'd cultivated a close friendship, a friendship that Honour cherished almost as much as she valued her friendship with Rory.

But Honour knew there was more to her relationship with Josh and it definitely wasn't just from the dream. There was something about him from the beginning that had caught her eye, something that made her seriously consider, then blatantly offer the job of camp coordinator to him. Much like the charity picnics and games were Rory's pride and joy, Honour had hoped that this camp would be hers and Josh had been an integral player in ensuring that dream came true.

And that was where their relationship differed from the simple friendship Honour had with Rory. Besides the fact that Rory and Josh were fundamentally different – a man and a woman, after all – and Rory had helped Honour make her dream of the charity for Catherine come true, Josh, it seemed, went beyond that. He wasn't a partner. For all intents and purposes, the man was a glorified babysitter that organized a camp for kids with enough medical problems to require a full staff of hospital employees. And yet, Josh didn't seem to mind or care that there was nothing in it for him. Instead, it seemed to Honour that he had absolutely no problem giving up perceivably everything.

But the day camp had been a success and as a result, Honour had been able to figure out wages or volunteer hours for all of those that had helped out. Beyond that, Josh had been the one to propose extending the camp into a week-long, overnight camp.

_"It'll give kids the chance to really experience life, even if they weren't, well, normal."_

Honour had almost swooned. Actually, she _had_ swooned, and refrained herself from launching herself at him. She'd managed to smile and instead, calmly walked over to kiss his cheek. He was a prince among thieves, she'd told him.

The camp required planning, planning and more planning. Honour had a charity to run, and a camp to plan, not that it really mattered in her life anyway. She wasn't attached, hadn't even been looking for any type of connection to any other person. Single and loving it, really. But then Josh had proposed the full-out camp experience, and thing started to change.

Honour noticed that she and Josh had been sharing more 'business' meals, and at any time of day. Sometimes he'd call her and say he had an idea he wanted to talk through with her. Sometimes she'd call him to say she had some numbers to double check. Regardless, she'd been to his apartment and he to hers a number of times since they'd originally met.

The attraction had snuck up on her.

It had come to her in bits and pieces, in dreams and in moments of distinct clarity throughout the last couple of months. Honour liked to believe she wasn't totally off her rocker in believing that some dreams did have semi-prophetic qualities to them. They were haunting her though, and getting hotter and hotter each time they happened. It was part of what was driving her crazy.

"Dreams," she said, finally answering Josh's earlier question.

"Nightmares?"

The genuine worry in his voice warmed Honour from the inside. "Thankfully no."

"Then what?"

She opted for shrugging. "They'll pass."

"Honour, you're not sleeping and as much as you try to hide it, it shows."

Honour blanched. "Rule number one, never tell a girl she looks like hell."

Josh grinned as he leaned around to her ear. "Honour Huntzberger, you look like hell," he whispered.

Instead of angering her, his breath on her ear sent her temperature rising just that bit higher. "You sure know how to make a girl feel good about herself," she said wryly.

Josh simply chuckled. "Come on. We'll go out for dinner to that Mexican place you like so much then I'll get you home. There's no way either of us are going to get much done tonight."

"We have so much to finish," Honour protested.

"Hon, come out with me. Please?"

Honour's head snapped up. "What?"

Josh moved around her, sitting on the table, a little bit to her left. "This shouldn't be a surprise."

"I don't…"

"I'm asking you out on a date, Honour," he said quietly. "One date."

Honour looked down at herself. "Now? When I, and I quote, 'look like hell'?"

Josh chuckled and shrugged. "What can I say? Even looking like hell you're beautiful."

She groaned. "Flattery!? You try and go with flattery after that?"

"I don't know if you've noticed, Honour, but even as a working relationship everything we do is unconventional. We're trying to iron out the details for a camp of children that's definitely going to require a fully equipped hospital and all of the staff. We're tying to figure out the things the kids can do, how long we'll run the camp and how important the camp will be to the kids. And yet, there's definitely more than friendship in what we're doing, Honour."

He didn't have to tell her that. She was well aware that something had grown out of control as soon as she'd accepted his invitation to dinner at his apartment the first time. "Okay," she finally said. "But if we're going to do a real date we have to iron out a few things."

Josh simply raised an eyebrow.

"I"ll go looking like hell this time, but then you owe me a full out date. Flowers, dinner, an the kiss afterwards."

Josh grinned. "You're on, Miss Huntzberger."

* * *

**Flashback**

_Sophie gripped Logan's hand tightly as she stepped through the halls of Oakwood Private School, Rory along on her other side. She was absolutely terrified._

_It had been a toss up as to whether or not she'd truly attend private school. She'd been upset to lose her friends, most of which she'd gone to school with for years and years. Sophie knew that if she'd told Rory and Logan she didn't want to attend private school, she'd be left at Sacred Heart and private school wouldn't be brought up again. But Sophie knew there was more at stake than her own comfort and safety. _

_Private schools were used to dealing with the crème-de-la-crème of high society children, used to the increased security families often demanded in order to keep their precious heirs safe. They'd passed through formidable looking steel gates upon their arrival. Frank, Rory and Logan had all been asked to present identification to the security guard on duty._

_Not only was Oakwood secure, but according to Rory's research and her own, it was the best. Sophie had found her classes at Sacred Heart a little boring after a while, too used to challenges and loving school too much to do anything about it. She cared deeply about her education. Both Sophie and Rory hoped that Oakwood would present Sophie with a challenging curriculum _

_But none of it made the transition any easier. _

_Oakwood went from junior kindergarten through to the eighth grade. Sacred Heart had stopped at fifth. The idea of any sort of middle school was a daunting one, but Sophie had promised herself she wouldn't worry about it until the following August, right before she started sixth grade. Now, however, it was staring her in the face and another thing that had her less than comfortable with the situation. Rory and Logan had been careful to educate Sophie as to the cruelty that high society could display, but Logan had been little help, simply because he knew the society way to answer problems. Rory was too sweet-tempered. Sophie had an anger in her and a rather hearty backbone. _

_"Sophie?"_

_She looked up at Rory, trying to hide the terror in her eyes. _

_Rory bent down to her daughter's eye-level, glancing around to ensure Logan was still busy finishing the paperwork in the office. Rory had known Sophie would be a little less than comfortable with the whole situation, but there was little she could do about it at the time. When Sophie made decisions, she stuck by them. "How are you feeling? About all this?"_

_"I'm staying, if that's what you're asking," Sophie replied, her voice much more clipped than usual._

_Rory sighed. Sophie couldn't hide much from her and couldn't lie either. "That's not what I'm talking about, Soph, and you know it."_

_Sophie's mouth was a thin line. "How did you feel?"_

_"When I started at Chilton?" Rory asked in clarification. When her daughter nodded, she forced a smile. "Terrified," she admitted._

_"And what did you do?"_

_Rory chuckled. "It wasn't easy, that's for sure. I was named Chilton's Mary."_

_"But?"_

_"But I took all of the teasing and all of the hazing. I met a few good people in Chilton. Very few, but they were there. Paris is coming to the wedding in May."_

_Silence fell between the females._

_"I'm scared, Mommy," Sophie said softly._

_Rory drew her baby into a hug, holding tight and trying to hang onto the tears. The times Sophie called her or Logan 'mommy' or 'daddy' were still few and she cherished them every time it happened. Nevertheless, that wasn't really what she was focused on. Sophie had created a network of friends at Sacred Heart that supported her and often came to the charity things, just like Rory had been the princess of Stars Hollow. "It'll be okay, sweetheart. You'll see."_

**End Flashback**

Sophie took a deep breath in as she made her way to homeroom following lunch. She'd been at Oakwood for three torturous weeks. Weeks of teasing, book snatching, shoving and rude name calling. She figured if she didn't react they'd stop, but she'd been wrong.

_Very wrong,_ she thought to herself when she felt the foot against her ankle and the ground rush up to meet her, Her books scattered and cruel laughter rang through the halls.

"Looks like the wittwe nerdy took a big fwall."

Sophie closed her eyes as she placed the face of Michael Carter, a sixth grader and her own personal version of hell.

"Gonna go cry to Mommy and Daddy?" Cater asked. "Not that they could probably do much. Did they go bankrupt to put you here?"

Sophie hadn't said a thing to anyone about her parents' death, nor had she spoken to anyone about the fact that she was the adopted child of the media's darling couple, Huntzberger and Hayden. Nevertheless, she scoffed, deciding now was as good a time as any to let the world know she wasn't going to be walked on any longer. "Trust me, my parents are far from bankrupt."

"There's no Wilson in high society." Ah Carter's female side-kick and unspoken 'girlfriend' Carry Harper.

"Of course not," Sophie replied, looking up at them. "My parents are dead."

"What's going on?"

Sophie sighed as she grabbed another book and added it to her pile. God bless the heart of Katie Sanders, but really, she was doing just fine on her own. Sophie had a backbone, she just didn't always use it.

Katie was an eighth grader with her locker beside Sophie's. The student that had left to allow Sophie's admittance was in the eighth grade, so Sophie had simply inherited the empty locker. Katie wasn't the 'in crowd' per se, but she commanded the respect of the student body. And she got it. No one messed with Katie.

"I'll ask again. What's going on?" Her tone brooked no argument.

"Nothing," Sophie answered finally. "Nothing."

Katie eyed Sophie bending down to help the younger girl collect her belongings. From day one Sophie had been under Katie's care at their lockers. They weren't really friends, but they weren't strangers either. Katie had hoped to be able to take Sophie under her wing, to ensure that someone admitted to the school on merit, just like Katie and Sophie were, had someone who understood what life among the rich and bored was like. "You sure about that?"

Sophie sighed, her eyes scanning over the surrounding, and suspiciously silent crowd. "Yeah, I'm sure."

Katie nodded once, sharply. "Okay. Where are you headed? You're all pretty late to class."

That had the uncanny ability of clearing out the hall way. Carter and his gang were a bunch of bullies, yes, but they were raised by bullies. Bullies that didn't take well to failing, doing poorly or skipping. It left Sophie and Katie to finish picking up the fallen books and supplies.

"They've been picking on you," Katie said softly as she handed Sophie her pencil case. "Why defend them?"

Sophie shrugged. "Because I don't have a choice? I don't say anything, I get picked on. I tell a teacher, I get picked on even worse."

"It's bullying, Sophie." But Katie knew Sophie wasn't budging. So she sighed. "Come on. I'll sign you out of class."

"I can't," Sophie protested immediately. "I'm already _ages_ behind." The transition academically had been much harder that Sophie had anticipated, but she'd taken up the challenge. She was sure she was almost caught up.

Katie waved her hand dismissively. "I'll tutor you. You're probably still behind anyway. We'll get you caught up no problem. Consider this government business." Not only did Katie's voice tell her there was little she could do to stop, but Katie was the student body president. She had ins at the office that Sophie, even with her Huntzberger connection, would never be able to replicate.

"I should be in class…"

"Missing one won't kill you, even if you are behind," Katie promised. "We'll talk in the government office, okay? No one around."

Sophie didn't really get why Katie was being so nice, but she followed anyway. "Why are you doing this?"

Katie looked at Sophie over her shoulder as she unlocked and pushed open the door. "Because you need a friend."

Sophie didn't want friends out of pity.

"Or at least you need an ally. The people in Oakwood are…"

"Stuck up snobs here on Daddy's money?"

Katie grinned at the apt description. "Assuming Mommy's the trophy wife, yeah. I'm here on merit, just like you."

Sophie swallowed. Katie was just being nice, trying to be a friend and make Oakwood a little bit more bearable for Sophie. As she said, she was an ally. Sophie couldn't lie to her. "I'm only partially here on merit," she admitted. "I scored above average on the entrance exam, yeah, but my parents…"

"I thought they were dead."

Ah, so she'd over heard. "I'm adopted."

"And your adoptive family is rich."

Sophie nodded. "Most people would say so."

"But you wouldn't?"

Sophie shrugged. "To me, they're just my parents. Money isn't talked about, considered or even really taken into consideration."

Katie was intrigued. "Who?"

"Promise you won't tell anyone?" Sophie asked, remembering the last time her parents had come up.

"Promise," Katie replied.

"You might have heard of them, actually. Um, Rory Hayden and Logan Huntzberger."

"That would be Huntzberger, as in the media conglomerate," Katie said.

"Yes, yes it would," Sophie agreed.

"Huh," Katie grunted. "Who'd have thought."

Sophie smiled grimly. "Yeah."

"And you don't tell anyone."

"Nope."

"Why not?"

This time, Sophie truly grinned. "I'd like to make my own reputation, thanks."

Katie understood. "That takes guts. And strength."

"Well, I guess it's good I've got a friend and an ally already, isn't it? Especially one in the student government and all."

Katie grinned,

Sophie grinned.

Friendship grew.

* * *

Stephanie sighed as she paced in front of a New York high rise in Manhattan. Leave it to Colin McRae to pick such a place, but that had no real place in today's reason for her presence. She had to talk to Colin and she had to do it soon, before she ripped her own hair out strand by strand. All she needed was the courage. 

A phone call wouldn't have cut it either. They were from society and they both knew how easy it was to lie over the phone. Steph knew it definitely had to be done in person. Preferably before Rory and Honour found a way to lock them both in a closet at the upcoming engagement party.

_Come on girl! You're going to run an empire someday and you can't even fid the courage to talk to one of your closest friends and the guy you've been in love with forever._

With a deep breath she climbed the steps and entered the lobby all haughty superiority. She played the part well, having the practice. She looked the part too, having just come from the office on her lunch break. She found that if she walked the walk, very few people questioned who she was or what she was doing in expensive stores.

As she got of the elevator she realized that it now came down to the daunting task of actually knocking on the door. Colin was anal to a fault, but it also meant he was habitual. Habit stated he work at home every Thursday and Friday afternoon.

"Ah, dear, we haven't seen you around lately."

Steph turned a charming smile on Colin's next-door neighbours, the Austins. They were nice people with a grandson they constantly told her she'd adore. If it wasn't for Colin, she would probably at least take them up on the offer at least once. "I've been busy," she answered simply. It was a partial truth. She'd been busy, yes, but she'd forced herself to keep busy.

"Well good luck with Mr MrRae. He's been a right grump for a while now," Mr Austin advised.

Steph felt a little guilty, sure she was the reason behind his annoyance. "Has he?"

Mrs Austin patted Steph's shoulder. "I'm sure you'll have nothing to worry about, my dear. He's always happier when you're about."

Now Steph knew she was blushing. "Well, we'll see what happens. I'm afraid I'm not his favourite person right now."

"Nonsense!"

"Come on Phyllis, leave her alone."

Steph watched them leave then with a soft goodbye. When she turned back to the door that led to Colin's apartment, she jumped. "Hi," she greeted him nervously.

Colin stood, leaning against the door, his arms folded across his chest. "Hi."

Steph swallowed. He didn't sound nervous, but he didn't seem that excited to see her either. "Um… can I come in?"

Colin stepped aside and allowed her to pass, closing his eyes at the floating floral scent that inevitably followed her. As he closed the door, he watched her seat herself on the coffee table. "Everything okay?"

Steph pondered the answer to that question carefully. "Not really, I guess."

Out came Colin the Eternal Protector. "What's wrong?" He'd taken a seat on the couch in front of her without blinking.

"Don't be thick Colin," Steph pleaded softly. "You kissed me at the carnival, ran away and we haven't talked since."

Colin could feel hot blood flood his cheeks. "Oh."

Steph rolled her eyes, her patience thin. "I need more than just 'oh' Colin. And you can't blame it on the booth because it wasn't my turn yet."

"I had to get Rory off my back somehow."

"Bullshit," Steph shot back, making Colin jump with the harsh tone she used. Then it dropped to a meek whisper. "Bullshit."

Colin ran his fingers through his hair. Steph was a strong woman, not small, not meek like she looked and like her voice sounded at that moment. It was one of the things he undoubtably loved about her. Her independence was legendary. Unfortunately for him, so was her determination. "I don't know what you want me to say, Steph. You won't believe anything."

"The truth Colin, that's all I've ever wanted."

"You won't believe anything. What do you want me to say?"

"That you did it because you wanted to!" Steph cried, jumping up and almost whacking Colin with her purse as she did so. "That I'm not the only one replying it in my dreams. That this whole deal of not talking to each other is bugging you just as much as it's bugging me."

"Of course it's bugging me," Colin said, voice calm despite her outburst. "You're my best girl, Steph, you always have been."

Steph took a small modicum of comfort from his words. "And what about the rest of it?"

Colin blinked owlishly. "What about it?"

Steph groaned and stepped into his personal space thankful that he'd stood to follow her and thankful that he was still taller than she. She was sick of dancing around, of having to quell the urge to touch him, of having to find excuses to be close to him. SO she did the only thing she was sure would force him to react.

Stephanie kissed him.

To say Colin was surprised was probably a large understatement. They were both sober this time, neither of them doing this to make a point to someone else. Steph was probably emotional, but even emotional Stephanie had a rational thought process. Colin was sure this wasn't a reaction to her anger with him.

He was, however, partially aware that she was attempting to force his hand.

And he had to admit she was doing a spectacular job of doing it because react he did. What else was he supposed to do when the girl he'd been lusting about for ages was kissing him? And lust only scratched the surface of what he felt for Stephanie. He'd been in love with her for years.

Steph had done it. She'd kissed him, sober and with no intent of running away when they broke apart. Instead, she had full intent to stay and see this conversation to the bitter end. Well, if she was honest, there was no guarantee it was going to be a bitter ending. In fact, she was sure that if she played her next few cards right, it would turn out a spectacularly happy ending for her.

He was the one to break the kiss. "Steph…"

"Tell me that didn't mean anything to you. Tell me that I'm being stupid and I'll go and we'll forget this ever happened," she whispered, still close to his mouth.

Colin pulled back a fraction further, taking care to make sure she met his eyes. She'd taken the first step. The ball was in his court. "I can't lie to you." He revelled in the spark that now shone in her eyes.

Steph smiled as she sagged against him. "You're an idiot."

"I'm an idiot?"

"Mmhmm."

Colin chuckled. "Why am I an idiot?"

"Because we could have done this ages ago and saved ourselves weeks of agony. I hate not talking to you."

"I hate not talking to you, too," he admitted. "Hey Steph?"

She looked up. "I've been in love with you for years," she said softly.

Colin groaned. "That's not fair!"

"What?"

"You took the words out of my mouth."

Steph let out an unladylike squeal and pushed herself against him. "We're both idiots."

Colin smiled as he pulled back and resituated them. "We're both idiots," he agreed as he bent to kiss her again.

* * *

Rory snuggled up against Logan as they watched a movie, wrapping both of her arms around his waist. "Engagement party's coming up." 

"Thrown by the Haydens, I know."

"Remind me why we didn't plan it?" she asked. The movie was just background noise and really had been from the beginning. They'd both seen it a thousand times.

"Because your grandparents wanted to do something for you," Logan reminded her, his hand sifting through her tresses.

She sighed, dropping her head to his shoulder. "And all of Hartford."

"You've seen the guest list?" Logan asked in surprise, gently tugging on her hair until she looked at him.

"No," Rory replied on a sigh. "But I do know my grandparents. Quite frankly, I wouldn't put it past them to make this into a Hartford extravaganza."

Logan chuckled, kissing her quickly. "You're paranoid, Hayden. This will be fine."

Rory twisted so she was straddling his lap, completely blocking the view of the television. "You say that now, but wait until we get there! Remember they already ambushed me once."

"With your Gilmore grandmother, I know. If it makes you feel any better, I believe Steph has her own ideas for an engagement party that would be more our style," Logan offered, leaning forward to nibble just under her chin.

Rory tipped her head back. "Actually, it doesn't help much," she admitted. "Do we trust Steph?"

"When she has Colin's influence, yes," Logan replied on a chuckle.

"You heard about that?" Rory asked pulling away in surprise.

Logan groaned and pulled her back. "From Colin himself, actually," he said against her throat. "Can we focus here please?"

Rory knit her brows. "On the engagement party?"

He found the spot on her shoulder that she loved and bit down gently, grinning when she gasped.

"Oh, that's what you mean…"

* * *


	11. One Last Step

**Early February 2012**

Braden stepped off the elevator on the top floor of the six-storey office building that housed Catherine's Foundation and looked around. The entire floor was virtually and eerily silent, seemingly empty except for the front desk. He smiled at the man behind it as he stepped forward. "I'm looking for Rory Hayden."

The man looked up, an eyebrow in the air. "Appointment?"

Braden knit his brows. "She said I could drop by anytime."

"No appointment, no meeting."

"But I've met her. She told me to come and see-"

"No appointment, no meeting."

Braden huffed out a breath, just as a woman, head bent, turned the corner, missing him by just inches as she shoved a pile of files over the desk.

"Can you get Laura to file those and cancel my three o'clock or sent it to—Braden!"

Then he was looking at blond hair. "Hey Honour."

"What are you doing here?" Honour asked.

"Rory told me to come by and check up on the place. See what you guys do and such," Braden explained.

"Well, she's back in her office on the phone, but I'm sure she'd be more than happy for the interruption. I'm pretty sure I heard some sort of Grandmother endearment, which means an interrogation on the wedding…"

"And I'm going to play excuse to get off the phone, got it," Braden interrupted. He knew Honour could keep going and going and going once she got started.

"Fantastic," Honour said with a huge smile. "I'm off to lunch. Are you going to be at the engagement party?"

"Engagement party?"

Honour nodded absently, digging through her purse. "Gilmore-thrown society soirée. I'll e-mail the invitation or something. Rory's the last door on your right." She waved and was gone.

Braden shot the man behind the counter a triumphant grin as he wandered off down the hall. Rory's door was open and she looked up eagerly as he knocked on the door.

"Grandmother, I have to go. I'll call you later." She hung up. "You have fantastic timing," Rory gushed as she stood and held out her hand.

Braden shook it with a grin. "Honour mentioned you may need rescuing."

Rory sighed. "They've been insane since I cut them out of the planning," she admitted. "Now, where would you like to start?"

---------------------------------------------------------

Three hours later, Rory stepped off the elevator on the bottom floor of the building. She was impressed by Braden and a little bit in aw of how personable he was. He's insisted on saying hello to almost every employee in the building. But she'd saved her favourite part for last.

"This is what we call the clinic floor," she explained as she headed down a hall on the left. "One of the big things Honour wanted to do was provide counselling and support for the kids and their families. We run workshops down here so families and patients can talk with others and build up a network of people that are going through or have gone through the same thing they are."

Braden looked at the brunette beside him in astonishment. He understood the motivation behind the support services, like the money and financial departments, but what had inspired this? "Wow."

Rory smiled, opening one of the doors. The room was decorated in calming colours, greens accented by beige. It was one of Rory's favourite rooms in the entire building, second only to the room down the hall nicknamed "The Sanctuary'. "This is one of the group rooms. We hold different group talks, usually classified by illness."

"This is…" Braden had no idea how to put into words how touching this was to him. He'd adored Catherine and to see all of this being done under her name, because she'd has such a profound effect on the lives of people, was almost overwhelming.

"There was a lot Honour wanted to do when she proposed the idea to me. This was one of the biggest. We started with counselling following loss, because she knew what it was like, but then there were so many kids that didn't know what to expect or felt isolated because they'd just had their lives dumped upside down. That was when we decided to start up the other groups," Rory informed him as she watched him wander around the room.

"Do you only run them for current patients?" he asked, making his way back to the door.

Rory smiled as she shook her head, continuing down the hall. "It's better when those in remission come back and sit in because it gives everyone else hope. And it's really helpful when parents come after they lose a child, God forbid. They help those just starting to deal with it."

Braden nodded. "You guys really promote the whole networking thing."

"Honour hated that you guys didn't have anyone and swears up and down that the therapist her parents sent her and Logan to was useless. She wanted to make sure it wasn't the same for others. We've got centres like this one in most of the major cities we have patients in," Rory replied, settling her hand on the knob of the last door in the hall. She took a deep breath. "This is what most of the older kids have dubbed The Sanctuary. They come here when they need a break from everything. They're safe here."

Braden wasn't sure he understood until he saw the room. One wall was covered in bookshelves packed to bursting point. In front of the shelves they had scattered all kinds of seating, from couches to bean bag chairs. Games were stacked on shelves across the room, tables standing proudly in front. The last corner held a television and collection of movies. "It's obvious this room was buildt for the older ones," he remarked.

"Hospitals don't do much for a lot of them," Rory pointed out. "They've got all sorts of areas for younger kids to play together, but the older ones…" She shrugged. "And the networking helps. We've got a sign out for all of this stuff so friends and family can take it to the hospital or home even."

Braden shook his head in awe. "Rory, this is above and beyond anything I'd ever expected. This is…"

"We're only trying. I wish there was more we could do," Rory replied softly.

"For the kids you help, it's probably more than enough," Braden responded. "It's definitely more than Honour, Logan and I had."

Rory sucked in a deep breath. "So? Does it pass?"

Braden grinned. "With flying colours."

* * *

**Late February 2012**

Rory and Logan stood outside the Gilmore residence the night of their engagement party, both trying to drum up the confidence to at the very least knock on the door. This was arguably the last thing they'd wanted to do on a Friday night.

"You knock," Rory said, bumping Logan's shoulder.

"They're your grandparents," Logan replied, trying to shove his hands even deeper into his pockets to battle the intense February cold.

"Your parents are going to be in there too," Rory pointed out, stepping closer to him to try and absorb what she could of his body heat.

Logan noticed and moved away. "No way, heat leech. If you want warmth, you knock on that door."

"Logan," Rory whined. "Come on!"

"No way, Ace. Not a chance. You knock on that door if you want out of this cold."

Rory groaned, stomping her feet to try and get some feeling back in them. She huffed as she reached forward to press the doorbell. "I hate you."

Logan kissed her cheek just as the door opened. "Mrs Gilmore," he greeted with his perfected society smile.

"Oh, Logan, call me Emily, and come in, come in!"

Rory and Logan stepped inside allowing the nearby maid to take their coats. Rory was extremely glad when Logan's arm wrapped securely around her waist. There was comfort in the gesture.

"You're the first ones here besides your families of course."

Sure enough, as they stepped into the sitting room, Shira and Mitchum were seated across from Francine and Straub, Richard at the nearby bar set up for the occasion. Rory hoped others were going to start showing up, and soon.

"Rory, your mother called and said traffic was giving her and your father a little bit of trouble and she'd be late," Emily said as she sailed past.

"That's odd. We definitely didn't hit traffic and we just dropped Sophie off there," Logan whispered in Rory's ear.

Rory made sure none of the others were looking at her before rolling her eyes. Her mother was the queen of procrastination.

"Ah, there you are!" Francine greeted happily, tilting her glass to the pair. "Come, sit!"

Rory smiled, heading over to kiss her grandmother's cheek. "I wouldn't want to get comfortable Grandmother. I'm sure other guests will be arriving soon."

Rory had barely finished her sentence when the doorbell rang again cheerfully. Rory could have hugged Honour as she stepped into the sitting room. Then, her jaw dropped as she caught sight of who the blond had brought with her.

"Josh, how are you?" she greeted, eyeing Honour as she kissed Josh's cheek. Rory knew Honour and Josh had been spending more and more time together, but she hadn't expected to see him at one of the upper-crust functions.

"Hey Ror," Honour greeted with a smile. Then she turned to the group at large. "Josh this is everyone, Mr and Mrs Gilmore, Mr and Mrs Hayden and my parents," she said, waving to each in turn. "Everyone, this is my boyfriend, Josh Cole."

Even Rory wasn't prepared for that revelation. Looking to Shira she noticed the woman's mouth open in surprise. She resisted the urge to groan, for Honour's sake.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Josh," Richard boomed, moving to shake Josh's hand. "What is it you do?"

Josh didn't miss a beat. "I've been consulting with the charity on getting some land in the country."

Even Honour was surprised by the response. "We're looking at starting an overnight camp, but we're going to have to build our own facilities because of the delicate nature of most of the campers," she explained, trying not to dart suspicious looks at Josh.

"Real estate, that's fantastic," Richard responded enthusiastically. "Send me the specs and I'll be more than happy to insure the place for you."

"Thank you, Richard, that would be fantastic," Honour said, her hand firmly in Josh's.

The doorbell rang again, emitting a couple of other families, obviously friends of the Gilmores, and Rory breathed out a sigh of relief. The pressure was off, simply diverted to her engagement instead of the petty small talk that would have gone on in the mean time. But she shot Honour a look. There was girl-talk for them in the near future. Rory would make sure of that.

* * *

Long before the engagement party, Rory and Logan had decided it was always much easier to tackle the guests of society parties if they split up. It had worked, but only up to a point. They supported each other and played their own little games to occupy themselves when they were together. She'd had her mother for part of the night, but she needed a break, needed a breath. She always needed a break. 

So she'd closed herself in her grandfather's study. By her own calculations, she figured she had seven minutes before someone, her mother or grandmother most likely, would come to find her, then another five before they actually did. Twelve minutes all told to take a break from society.

She hadn't expected anyone to follow her.

"It's nice to see your still predictable."

Rory closed her eyes briefly before turning to face Robert. "I'm going to have to file a restraining order to get rid of you, aren't I?"

Robert clucked his tongue. "That's not a nice thing to say to your guest."

"Technically, you're my grandmother's guest, which explains why you had the guts to show up. Now what do you want?" Suddenly, Rory would rather be out with society than in the office with _him._

Especially when she heard the click of the door closing.

"Now, Rory, what would make you think I want something?"

"Other than the smarmy tone of your voice?" the brunette shot back, trying to carefully manoeuvre herself so the desk stood as a barrier between them.

"I can't believe you'd have such little faith in me."

Rory narrowed her eyes. "Tell me this isn't an aim by my grandmother?" _Like her underhanded tactics at the fall Veteran's luncheon_, she thought to herself.

"Now why would she go and do something like that?"

"I don't care why," Rory snapped. By this point, she'd moved them so her back was to the door. In theory, it would be easy for her to escape.

Robert had other plans. He was faster than she'd anticipated, grasping her wrist and yanking her to him, wrapping his arm around her back, trapping the other arm against her side.

"Let me go," Rory demanded.

"I did that once and look where it got me. Now you're poised to marry _Huntzberger,_ God knows why,"

"Because he hasn't cheated on me?" Rory answered sarcastically.

"Oh, poor, naïve, little Rory Hayden," Robert responded, shaking his head, his face inches from hers. "Doesn't understand how society works. You think he's not a master of hiding his affairs? He's the son of one of the most notorious philanderers in Hartford's society."

Rory squirmed against Robert's grip, her heart beating harshly against her rib cage. "Is it really that hard for you te believe that Logan doesn't want or need to go out and find someone else?"

"He's Logan Huntzberger," Robert said close to her ear as if that explained everything. "I hope you have a fidelity clause in your pre-nup."

Rory heard the door open and felt her body relax. Whoever it was, was going to get a fantastic reward.

"Rory, there you are! Logan's looking for you." It was Colin.

Rory was pulled from Robert, stumbling back on her heels towards the door. Finn caught her as she started to fall and set her on her feet.

"Now, scurry on, Love. Colin and I are just going to have a word with good old Robert here."

Rory didn't need to be asked again and made sure she closed the door behind her.

* * *

Logan had lost Rory. Even when they decided to split up, they always had an eye on each other, but he couldn't find her among the sea of people crowded into the Gilmore home. He'd searched too, in and among the people. Rory Hayden was nowhere to be found. 

It worried Logan only for the sake of his own sanity. He'd glimpsed her in passing once or twice, being dragged here or there by some female and he did not wish to be in her shoes. Rory, Honour and Lorelai had planned the wedding, Logan knew very little about it all.

"Catie would be proud of you."

Logan turned to face Braden with a smile and a raised eyebrow. "How so?"

"If there was one thing she was worried about it was leaving you," Braden said honestly. "She wanted you to be happy."

"I'm deliriously happy," Logan affirmed. "Ace…"

Braden grinned. "I'm happy for you. She's one heck of a girl."

Logan chuckled. "She's… her mother's daughter."

"Lorelai. There's only rumours," Braden nodded. "Mind you I did spend a day with her."

"Rory? I heard about that," Logan agreed. "What did you think of the place?"

"It's not the place so much as the people," Braden said wisely. "It makes me want to get involved in the whole thing."

Logan grinned. "They're always looking for donors and sponsors, and I know Rory and Honour love it when people who aren't part of the charity show up at the informal events."

"It's beyond what I'd ever imagined," Braden admitted. "Honour found an excellent partner."

Both men were silent for a moment, surveying the party.

"Hey Braden," Logan said suddenly.

"Yeah?"

"Be a groomsman?"

Braden blinked. "What?"

"Colin won the coin toss for best man and I've got Finn, but since you're back… It would feel wrong if you weren't standing there too," Logan tried to explain.

He'd put a lot of thought into asking Braden to be involved in his wedding. He knew Rory had asked Honour and Steph to stand with her as bridesmaids and Lorelai was her maid of honour, but he only had Colin and Finn. They hadn't worried about the unevenness initially, though they had joked that society would throw a fit. Braden's return had started the wheels in Logan's head.

Catherine's death had bonded the families, especially Braden, Honour and Logan. Braden and Logan shared their own bond as the two who knew Catherine the best. Asking Braden to be a groomsman seemed like the next logical step.

"Are you sure, Logan?"

"Positive."

There was silence for a minute before Braden cleared his throat. "I'd be honoured."

Logan grinned as they shared the all-famous man-hug. "It means a lot," Logan said.

Braden nodded, sharing the grin.

Then Rory impacted Logan's side, burrowing herself as close to him as possible.

Logan's arms wrapped around his shaking fiancée without a second thought. "Ace?"

Rory mumbled something into his shoulder.

"What was that?" Logan asked. This time he was able to pick out words like 'Robert' and 'cornered' and 'escape'. Logan prided himself on being an excellent journalist and so, by adding her trembles to her words, came to a conclusion. "Robert's here?"

Rory growled, her anxiety giving way to anger now that she had Logan's strength against her. "Stupid friends of stupid grandparents throwing the stupid party."

Despite his own rising frustration and anger at Robert's guts, Logan chuckled at her summary. "Are you okay?" She would always be his first priority.

"Colin and Finn showed up," she replied.

"Leave it to Colin to be your knight in shining armour, again," Logan said, kissing her temple gently.

"My usual knight was indisposed," Rory replied with a cheeky smile. Then she turned to Logan's companion. "Hi Braden."

Braden was trying to hold in a round of chuckles at the whole scene. Rory Hayden certainly was unique. "Rory."

"Braden agreed to be the mystery groomsman," Logan told her.

Rory's head popped up from Logan's shoulder. "Really? I had no idea you were even going to ask."

Logan shrugged. "It seemed right."

Rory grinned separating herself further from Logan as her Robert-induced anxiety fled. "It is right," she agreed. "That's fantastic and now Mom doesn't have to walk down the aisle by herself."

Both men chuckled.

Colin and Finn wove through the crowd to stand with them and close off the circle. Finn caught Rory's gaze and made a show of dusting off his hands. "So, Ms Hayden, I believe my fellow knight and I are deserving of some sort of reward for rescuing a damsel in distress."

Rory chuckled, kissing Colin's cheek. "And I'm assuming the only thanks you'll take is a drink?"

Finn's face lit up. "Love, you know the way to an Aussie's heart," he exclaimed. "Lead on!"

* * *

**_Gah_****_ This took so incredibly long to write! I've been busy with the start up of a new school year and a couple of little personal things that decided to pop up. Let me tell you, I'm throwing rocks at boys because they're thick-headed. Or, at least the one's in my life certainly are!_**

**_Anyway, one chapter left. The epilogue, I guess. The wedding. I have some ideas but if there's something in particular you want to see let me know and maybe, MAYBE, I'll be able to fit it in._**

**_AND_****_, I'd love to thank each and every one of you for your patience. I know Catherine's Foundation was updated almost every day and this one's been a bit more sporadic, but you guys have been fantastic with the being patient and everything. Thank you, thank you, thank you!_**


	12. Huntzberger 180

Mitchum was on a mission, a completely selfless mission for his son and his soon-to-be daughter-in-law. He'd heard from Elias about the tension between his wife and Logan's fiancée. What had surprised him most was the way Elias had defended Rory to the ends of the earth. If his father felt it was someone he should defend – and Mitchum had been on the receiving end of her intelligence multiple times now – then the girl had to have substance.

He'd never agreed with Shira's decision to focus on a trophy wife for Logan. He'd never liked the idea of a trophy wife. He knew exactly where the feeling came from, had known for years that if Logan ever found someone that challenged him, amused him, and as clichéd as it was, completed him, Mitchum would support him one hundred percent.

Because he'd had Abigail and lost her, and lost part of himself with her.

"Shira?"

His wife returned his summons from the sitting room and he made a beeline for her. She was flipping through some fashion magazine, but looked up at him, the surprise in her eyes evident. "You're home early."

"I had some things I wanted to discuss with you," he replied. Part of him was highly apprehensive. After all, he may not be in love with his wife, but part of him loved her nonetheless.

She blinked up at him. "Things to discuss?"

"Rory, specifically." He watched Shira carefully for the reaction and was not surprised to see the slight spark of disgust. Still, like she was used to, she put on an excellent show.

"What about her?"

Mitchum sat down with a sigh. "She's going to marry our son, Shira."

It was the quiet tone of his voice that caught her attention. Suddenly the entire demeanour in the room changed and she wasn't the cold and haughty but hospitable trophy wife and he wasn't the workaholic philandering business man. Instead, they were parents, both of them wanting what was best for their son in whatever way they could get it.

"Rory is good for Logan."

"Rory is not fit for this family," Shira responded.

But Mitchum knew it was on reflex. "You were not fit for this family."

Shira knew that, had known that since day one of her marriage. And she wasn't blind. She knew Mitchum wasn't faithful and knew that Mitchum had been in love with a woman that left him burned. "She won't support him."

Mitchum knew now that any of Shira's arguments would be superficial at best. "They already support each other. And she's charming, a very intelligent woman. She will be an asset to the Huntzberger empire and an asset to the family, to Logan."

"And what about the girl?"

Mitchum sighed. "I admit to jumping the gun with her. Rory and Logan keep her out of the spotlight as much as possible. I highly doubt another insulting story will show up about her."

Shira looked up at him. They didn't get along, not in the way she'd hoped when she'd married him. And she really did want what was best for Logan.

Mitchum took her hands in his. He cared, even if he didn't love her. "I understand that it is all you know," he began softly. "But Logan has a better chance at the life we both wanted. This is his chance. I'm not even asking you to like her, not yet anyway. I'm asking you to open your mind to her, to think about how his life will be with her by his side, correcting his mistakes, calling him on his decisions."

Shira was quiet for a few moments, taking in his request. Finally, she took a deep breath. "I'll try Mitchum. After all, there's still hope for Honour."

Mitchum couldn't help the smile that twitched at the corners of his mouth. He'd deal with Honour if and when it came to that. For now, something in his heart swelled at the thought of Logan having a chance at the life he didn't.

And regardless of all of the wrong's he'd done Logan, it suddenly felt like he'd done something right.

* * *

**May 27th, 2012**

Rory was hyperventilating. She knew it, she felt it, she was sure she was going to pass out. Everything was falling apart around her, her wedding plans were starting to collapse and she could feel it. She didn't need to put a hand to her heart or a finger to her throat to know her pulse was through the roof. And she couldn't remember the last time she'd had a freak out of this sort of epic proportions.

And this was only the rehearsal dinner.

The deal went something like this: Rory had felt bad about a month back about keeping her grandmothers and Shira completely out of the loop on her wedding. She'd gone to Honour and Steph to figure out if they could find a way to bring about a compromise. Or at least, a pseudo-compromise.

And it came in the form of her rehearsal dinner.

Since the wedding was set to be held in a church and the reception at The Dragonfly, Honour, Steph and Lane has all pitched in to create a virtual wonderland at the country club for her rehearsal dinner. The decorations were beautiful, the tables and flowers all completely and totally prepared for Hartford. It was the Hartford reception the elder generation craved in her rehearsal dinner.

And yet, Rory couldn't get the feeling that everything was going wrong out of her mind. It was the reason she was currently looking at herself in the lavish bathroom mirror of the country club, trying to do everything in her power to get her breathing and heart rate under control but nothing seemed to want to work. She knew Logan was busy playing the perfect about-to-be-wed. And she knew she didn't need his help.

That didn't mean she didn't want it.

Two hands settled on her shoulders and Rory gulped in air as she met the identical eyes of her mother. She tried to smile, but the squeeze of her mother's hands on her shaking shoulders told her the effort was not necessary.

"Second thoughts?" Lorelai asked softly, turning herself to lean beside her best friend and daughter on the counter.

Rory shook her head empathetically. Never, ever, _ever,_ would she have second thoughts about saying 'I do' to Logan Huntzberger.

Lorelai's hand went to Rory's back, rubbing up and down her spine. It was the exact same thing that had calmed Rory as a baby and Lorelai had always taken to doing it when Rory had panic attacks through her school years.

Slowly, Rory's breath calmed and she began to breathe normally, her pulse rate dropping. Her chest slowed, and her fingers unclenched from the marble. "Everything's falling apart."

"Your relationship?"

Rory shot her mother a look. "Do you know something I don't?"

Lorelai smiled. In reality, she was extremely glad Rory had found a mate in Logan. He'd managed to rise above the stereotype of Hartford's playboy and had won a spot in both Lorelai's heart, and Christopher's. In fact, it had been since the beginning, since they first met him in Hartford's hospital.

It had been a long time since someone had taken care of Rory like that and the caring had shown plain on Logan's face as he sat in the waiting room with Rory. There had never been a doubt in her mind that Logan was head over heels in love with Rory.

"Then what's going on?" Lorelai asked, reaching up to run her fingers through Rory's hair.

Rory took a deep breath. "I don't know. I know it's not Logan, and I know it has nothing to do with being afraid of marrying him. But I have no idea why it feels like all of the plans are being pulled apart piece by piece."

"Everything's fine, Ror," Lorelai tried to reassure her. "Even the three witches are behaving themselves tonight."

"But what about tomorrow?" And Rory's breath started coming faster and faster, her chest starting to heave and her head starting to spin.

"Tomorrow will be fine. Tomorrow will be your day with your man and your family and you will marry the man that you love and a man that absolutely dotes on you and Sophie and…"

Rory was grinning by this point, the panic once again momentarily forgotten. There was nothing she wanted more than to stand up there and pledge her love to him.

"Nothing, absolutely nothing, is going to stand in the way of that."

Rory looked up at her mother, her eyes glistening now. "What if someone stands up and…"

"It won't happen," Lorelai interrupted.

"And if Shira…"

"She won't.

"Grandma is going—"

"Rory!" Lorelai interrupted in exasperation. "Your father and I are going to make sure nothing happens tomorrow. _Nothing_. And Logan will not let anything happen."

"I just…"

"You just worry too much," Lorelai said affectionately. "Tomorrow will come off without a hitch, you have no reason to panic." Then she paused for a moment. "However, you will have reason for panic if you don't get back out there and play the perfect bride."

Rory pulled her mother into a huge hug. "I love you, Mom."

Lorelai hugged back, but there was no way she wasn't going to quip back. "But this fills my maid of honour quotient so you'd better not panic tomorrow."

Rory just grinned as she linked arms with her mother.

* * *

Logan was an excellent reporter, and thus, an excellent observer. It was the reason he wasn't stressed out of his mind. His fiancée was missing, but he'd seen Lorelai leave the room and knew the mother-daughter bond was more likely to be of help in finding his missing Ace. It didn't mean he wasn't worried. 

But he did breathe out a sigh of relief when a hand flattened on his back and Rory snuggled herself to his side. On the heels of that sigh of relief, however, was a tension. He was standing with his parents, and while Shira and Rory put on an excellent show of being cordial, veiled barbs were often exchanged. He tensed even more when his mother cleared her throat.

"I don't believe I ever extended my best wishes on your wedding."

Logan blinked owlishly at his mother and by the way he felt Rory tense against him, she was just as surprised. "Th-Thank you, Mom," Logan said carefully, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"I'm sure it will be beautiful day tomorrow," she said her arm wrapping around Mitchum's waist.

Mitchum almost grinned at the stunned look on Rory and Logan's faces. "Shira, I believe this is our song. May I have this dance?"

Rory and Logan watched the Huntzberger's walk off, trying to keep their jaws locked together. Finally, Logan looked down at Rory. "That did actually happen, right?" he asked the brunette, his arm subconsciously tightening around her hip.

Rory nodded slowly. "I think so," she responded moving so she stood in front of him.

His arms automatically wrapped around her waist, tucking her into his body. "That… that was…"

"Mmhmm," Rory agreed, cupping his elbows in her hands. "Are we sure that's your mother and not some alien life form in her body?"

Logan snorted a laugh. Then he looked down, sighed, and pulled her as close as possible, planting a sweet kiss on her forehead. "I love you, Ace."

Her smile was blinding. "I love you, too. And I'm going to marry you."

"Mmhmm," he replied, kissing her thoroughly. "Are you sure we have to spend tonight together?"

"I wish we didn't," she agreed, heaving a sigh. They were going to have to split at the end of the night, Rory to her parents, and Logan to the Huntzberger mausoleum. It was one of the few allowances she had made for her grandmothers.

He took a deep breath. "Well, let's focus on the time we've got tonight. And tomorrow, you'll be my wife, and we'll have forever together."

"Forever," she said, her voice contemplative. "Forever sounds, really, really good."

Then she kissed him.

* * *

**_This is my edited version of this. It's longer, there's Logan, and hopefully some humanity of the Huntzbergers. I hope this is better than the first draft!_**


	13. What the Future Holds

**May 28th, 2012**

Rory woke slowly, stretching languorously. It was surprising that she was so calm on her wedding day. She'd gone to bed the night before more anxious about being anxious than really worrying about the wedding itself.

Sophie knocked on Rory's door and pushed it all the way open, bringing in two cups of coffee and the morning's paper. She blinked at her mother, lounging, but alert. "You're not fussing," she said bluntly, holding out the mugs.

Rory pushed herself into a sitting position, accepting both mugs as Sophie crawled in on the side usually reserved for Logan. "I am not nervous," Rory said with a smile.

"Not nervous?" Sophie inquired in surprise, taking her mug and setting it on Logan's bedside table while she divided up the paper. "On your wedding day?"

Rory grinned as she took the front page while Sophie took the arts section. "Trust me, I'm surprised."

"Did you sleep?" Sophie asked, cupping her coffee between her hands as she spread the paper before her. By her calculations, she and her mother had a good hour of good paper-reading time before anyone would be around to push Rory into the final wedding preparations.

"Surprisingly well," Rory replied as she scanned the headlines. She had to admit, the routine of the morning, with or without Logan, made her feel even better. And she very much enjoyed the time she got to spend alone with her daughter. She loved Logan, but they'd been Rory and Sophie first.

"You're not going to go over all of the plans? Call Lorelai to make sure she's going to be here on time? Check with Honour at the church?"

"If my mom is late on my wedding day I will never talk to her again, Honour has gone over the plans with me until I thought I may toss them at her and she's coming to the church with us. She may be my wedding planner, but she's decided she's my bridesmaid first." It was nice for Rory to be able to talk to Sophie almost like she would any of her girlfriends. They'd always been close and Rory knew that Sophie had been happy for Rory upon finding Logan, but for the first while, part of the small child had resented Logan's place in Rory's life. "Plus, I'm spending time with my daughter."

Sophie blushed a bright pink.

The peace was shattered forty-five minutes later when the door slammed open. "Rory! Rory Hayden where are you!"

Rory and Sophie exchanged a look and a sigh. Minutes later Honour was bounding through her bedroom door, dress bag over her arm and hair thrown into a hasty ponytail. The blond blinked.

"You're not racing around."

"My daughter, my perfectionist baby, isn't racing around on her wedding day? I thought for sure you'd be ready to go to the church by now," Lorelai said from behind Honour.

"Sophie and I were reading the paper," Rory said with a shrug. "The scariest part for me was the rehearsal dinner."

"You're not nervous Logan'll get cold feet? Or something will go wrong with the plans? Or my mother will stand up when they say whatever it is that lets someone stand up and say they don't think the people should be married?"

"Honour," Rory said with a laugh. "You sound like me."

The phone rang before Honour could reply and she settled on a pout instead. Rory smiled when she recognized Logan's cell on the caller display. "Good morning."

"Thought I'd call and check in."

The realization she was getting married in a few hours was starting to sink in and Rory could feel her excitement growing. "We're good. Honour and my mom just showed up."

"So now the craziness starts."

"I think that might be the reception. All of those formal guests plus our friends?"

"I'll tell Finn to save his crazy hat then."

Rory chuckled. "Please do."

"I'll see you in a few hours, Ace. I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

Hours later, Rory stood, breathing deeply in the bridal suite. It was the only thing that was keeping her nerves calm and not because she was nervous about the wedding itself. Her grandmothers were starting to breathe down her neck, criticising the simplicity she'd chosen. It was starting to frustrate her and she hadn't even walked down the aisle. 

"And I thought the Fallon wedding was a mess," came the happy voice of her wedding planner, the same woman they often hired to run their charity events.

Rory groaned as she dropped to the stool of the vanity. "My grandparents are insane," she agreed.

Alanna Cabot rolled her eyes. "It's not even the grand_parents_, Ror, it's your grandmothers. They've asked me to make all sorts of last minute changes."

Rory groaned again. "I hate them. Well, not actually, but I do. A lot. Right now."

"Breathe," Alanna coached. "This is your wedding and Honour gave strict orders to anyone not to change a single thing without her final approval or Lorelai's. I promise this will be exactly what you want."

"How much time?"

Alanna checked her watch. "Fifteen minutes."

Rory nodded. "Thanks."

"Sure thing."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, she was preparing to take her first step down the aisle, her father at her side, Sophie half of a step in front of her. She could already feel the tears gathering in her eyes, much like she had felt when she'd seen Lane and Honour all dressed in the bridesmaids dresses. Her mother looked gorgeous and she was sure that if her father wasn't the one walking her down the aisle, he'd have shoved Colin out of the way to get the honour. 

"You ready, Kiddo?" Christopher asked as the first chords of the wedding march played and Sophie started her walk down the aisle.

"As I'll ever be," Rory replied, squeezing her father's arm. She could see her grandparents on one side of the aisle, beaming proudly and the Huntzbergers on the other, Shira looking resigned to her son's choice in wife.

But that wasn't what mattered. What mattered was the blond man at the front, standing gorgeously in a black tuxedo, Colin at his elbow. Her eyes stayed fixed on Logan as she stepped down the church's red carpet, feeling more and more like a princess with every step. Of course, that had as much to do with the way Logan was looking at her as it was the dress she was in.

Rory barely paid attention to the service, something she was sure her grandparents would scold her on later. They would never understand that it wasn't the words that mattered, it was the people surrounding her, all of the most important people in her life and Logan, right in front of her.

She barely registered reciting her vows, ones she'd written with Sophie by her side and Finn to correct her grammar – a surprise that he'd pulled out of his back pocket at the last minute – nor did she really feel Logan sliding her wedding band to sit with her engagement ring. She did, however, hear what she felt was the part she'd been waiting for since the day he proposed.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife."

* * *

Sophie fidgeted in her seat as Lorelai made her maid of honour speech and Colin made his best man speech. She had a present of her own to give to her parents. It wasn't anything material, for that wasn't Sophie's style. It was something different, and was as much a present to her as it would be to Rory and Logan. 

Lorelai caught her eyes, her own blue ones teary with the words she'd just spoken. "And Sophie would like to say a few things to you."

Rory and Logan looked completely shocked as Sophie climbed the stairs to the stage. The little girl cleared her throat. "Um… Honour asked me, about a week ago, what I was going to get my parents for their wedding day," she began nervously. "And I had no idea. How do you get something for the pair you truly think has everything? I tried to think about what their favourite things were, about what they wanted to accomplish, about what they may like to read or do, and I still couldn't come up with anything.

"Then it hit me. Rory and Logan did an amazing thing for my birthday. Logan officially adopted me. And yet, I realized, I'd only ever sporadically called them Mom and Dad since." Sophie took a deep breath. "So, here's my present: Rory, Logan, would it be okay if I called you 'Mom' and 'Dad'?"

Logan was out of his seat pulling her off the stage before she could even put the microphone down, Rory not far behind. They hugged her tightly, Rory crying in earnest, her shoulders shaking. Even Logan had tears in his eyes.

"Sophie," he said softly, one arm around Rory while Sophie clung to his neck. "We'd be honoured."

Lorelai watched the flashes go off around them, personal and professional cameras and smiled, tears racing down her cheeks. Christopher hugged her tightly, his own eyes looking a little glassy.

"We did it, Lor," he whispered to her. "We raised and amazing daughter."

Lorelai looked up at her husband a smile on her face. "And now she's got her own amazing family."

Christopher nodded. "Our job is done."

Lorelai nodded, glancing around the gorgeously decorated room until her gaze fell on her other baby girl. She smiled wryly. "At least until Kitty grows up."

"No, no, no," Christopher protested. "Kitty won't be dating until she's forty…"

Lorelai just smiled.

* * *

**_Well, ladies, gentlemen and faithful readers, this marks the end of my foray into the Gilmore Girls world. I want to profusely thank the people who have not only reviewed, but have periodically PM'd me to ask me where this chapter was. It took forever to get right and then finals and other stories got in the way, but I'm trying to get all of my stories finished before I allow myself to post my next one._**

**_I won't be writing another Gilmore Girls story for a while, at least. I do still have the plans for the NY one that people have been asking about, but I didn't like where I was writing it at the time and thus, took it down. I may put it up later on._**

**_But anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope you liked Sophie's present to her parents! _**


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